New maps of gender equality? Gender ideals and practices in a comparative perspective

We analyze the prevalence of the second half of the gender revolution: men´s involvement in the home and family.

Approaching this from a cross-national, over-time perspective, we study attitudes and behaviours regarding the gendered division of work, with a special focus on men’s involvement in the home sphere.

Research suggests that a development towards equal gender relations in work and family would be beneficial for societies, both socially and economically.

We use data from the International Social Survey Program (1988-22).We examine three central areas: 1)Gender equality in work and family, 2)Social care organization and responsibility, 3)Preferences about family formation.We approach these areas through three analytical dimensions: a) attitudes, b) behavior, and c) the propensity for change.

Studying attitudes is a tool to gain knowledge about prevailing ideals and norms. Focusing on behavior is a means to study how ideals and norms are anchored in society.

Changes over time and differences among social categories within countries are measures of propensity for change.Theoretically, we draw on cross-national welfare research; an area providing comprehensive knowledge about how institutional arrangements can affect gender relations.While previous comparative research on family is limited geographically and analytically, we will systematically examine ideals and practices about women’s and men’s work and family life, across countries, over-time and among social groups.