How Do Changes in Gender Role Attitudes Towards Female Employment Influence Fertility? A Macro-Level Analysis

By Bruno Arpino, G. Esping-Andersen, Léa Pessin. 2015

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This study explores whether the diffusion of gender-equitable attitudes towards female employment is associated with fertility. We argue that any positive effect on fertility requires not only high levels of gender-equitable attitudes overall, but also attitude convergence between men and women. We analyse 27 countries using data from the World Values Surveys and European Values Studies. We find support for a U-shaped relationship between changes in gender role attitudes and fertility: an initial drop in fertility is observed as countries move from a traditional to a more gender-symmetric model. Beyond a certain threshold, additional increases in gender egalitarianism become positively associated with fertility. This curvi-linear relationship is moderated by the difference in attitudes between men and women: when there is more agreement, changes are more rapid and the effect of gender egalitarian attitudes on fertility strengthens.

Subfields: Demography, Gender Studies

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/6f8bfdbf8e99c4b99e82a24f685c3b3e7530151f