Attitudes toward work and parenthood following family-building transitions in Sweden: Identifying differences by gender and education

Eva Bernhardt; Frances Goldscheider; Malgorzata Switek

doi:10.4054/DemRes.2023.49.30

Volume 49 - Article 30 | Pages 783–808

Attitudes toward work and parenthood following family-building transitions in Sweden: Identifying differences by gender and education

By Eva Bernhardt, Frances Goldscheider, Malgorzata Switek

Date received:

25 Aug 2022

Date published:

9 Nov 2023

Word count:

5718

Keywords:

educational inequality, family-building transitions, gender equality, parenthood attitudes, work attitudes

DOI:

10.4054/DemRes.2023.49.30

Supplementary Material:

demographic-research.49-30 (zip file, 44 kB)

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Abstract

Objective: This paper examines how family-building transitions (union formation and first birth) affect the attitudes of Swedes toward work and parenthood. The literature finds that these life course transitions have a traditionalizing effect on gender roles. Is this also the case in Sweden, one of the most gender-equal countries in the world?

Methods: Our study uses the longitudinal Young Adult Panel Study database. We run first-difference OLS regressions on the relationship between family-building transitions and work and parenthood attitudes, distinguishing men from women, and those with more education from those with less.

Results: We find that family transitions do slightly traditionalize attitudes toward work and parenthood, but differences by gender and education are very small.

Contribution: The overall pattern is one of striking similarity between men and women, suggesting that the gender revolution is well advanced in Sweden; traditional gender differences remain primarily among those with less education.