The Gender Gap in Attitudes About Childlessness in the United States

Tanya Koropeckyj‐Cox · Gretchen Pendell

116 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Marriage and the Family

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Family Dynamics and Relationships Work-Family Balance Challenges Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

Abstract

Acceptance of childlessness has increased since the 1970s, with women reporting greater acceptance than men. Using the National Survey of Families and Households (1987 – 1988;N= 10,648) and the General Social Survey (1994;N=1,395), we examined this gender gap as it relates to both structural and sociocultural factors, including religion, gender attitudes, and other attitudes about gender and family. Women were more likely than men to hold positive attitudes about childlessness, and women’s less traditional attitudes about marriage, gender equality, and women’s employment only partially explained this difference. In the childbearing ages, positive attitudes were strongly related to intentions to remain childless and showed a greater gender gap at higher education levels. The findings highlight important differences in men’s and women’s experiences of family, work, and gender issues.

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References

1997The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood 2001The Wage Penalty for Motherhood 2018The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work 2000Is Anyone Doing the Housework? Trends in the Gender Division of Household Labor 1998The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood.1997The Time Bind 2004Gender As a Social Structure 2006Promises I can keep: why poor women put motherhood before marriage

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2016Parenthood and Happiness: Effects of Work-Family Reconciliation Policies in 22 OECD Countries 2007Attitudes About Childlessness in the United States 2015Diverse paths into childlessness over the life course 2014Voluntary childlessness: A critical review of the literature 2014Fifty shades of freedom. Voluntary childlessness as women's ultimate liberation 2012A phenomenological exploration of the childfree choice in a sample of Australian women

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