Brothers increase women’s gender conformity

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  • Anne Ardila Brenøe

I examine how one central aspect of the family environment—sibling sex composition—affects women’s gender conformity. Using Danish administrative data, I causally estimate the effect of having a second-born brother relative to a sister for first-born women. I show that women with a brother acquire more traditional gender roles as measured through their choice of occupation and partner. This results in a stronger response to motherhood in labor market outcomes. As a relevant mechanism, I provide evidence of increased gender-specialized parenting in families with mixed-sex children. Finally, I find persistent effects on the next generation of girls.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Population Economics
Volume35
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)1859-1896
Number of pages38
ISSN0933-1433
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

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Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

    Research areas

  • Gender conformity, Gender norms, Motherhood, Occupational choice, Sibling sex

ID: 342611615