Gender Attitudes in Post-crisis Europe

• In Event: 308 - Section on Sociology of Sex and Gender Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Gender, Work and Family: Session I

Abstract

The paper deals with the impact of the economic crisis of 2008-2009 upon gender attitudes of the population of Europe. Crisis touched the economy of most European countries though to a different extent. It affected objective living conditions of people including the situation in the labor market. The changing economic situation in turn should affect gender attitudes. In the research both macro-indicators (the impact of crisis upon the economy of the country) and individual level indicators (having lost ones job) are taken into account. Special focus in the research is given to the impact of gender attitudes of the vulnerable groups (female, low-educated, one-adult households with children). The data of Eurobarometer 2011 serve as a database. The targeted group of population are people aged 18-65. Multilevel regression modeling is used. It was shown that on macro level economic crisis did not have impact upon gender attitudes in general, but on micro level those who have suffered from crisis have more traditional gender attitudes. As to the vulnerable groups, although gender attitudes of women and of those who live in one-adult households with children are more egalitarian, they are more traditional in countries that were more affected by crisis. At the same time in countries where unemployment rate grew more the effect of education on gender attitudes is smaller than in countries where unemployment rate increased to a lesser extent.

Author

• Natalia Soboleva, National Research University Higher School of Economics