Origins of Gender Norms: Sibling Gender Composition and Women's Choice of Occupation and Partner

No 11692, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: I examine how one central aspect of the childhood family environment – sibling gender composition – affects women's gender conformity, measured through their choice of occupation and partner. Using Danish administrative data, I causally estimate the effect of having a second-born brother relative to a sister for first-born women. The results show that women with a brother acquire more traditional gender norms with negative consequences for their labor earnings. I provide evidence of increased gender-specialized parenting in families with mixed-sex children, suggesting a stronger transmission of traditional gender norms. Finally, I find indications of persistent effects to the next generation of girls.

Keywords: gender identity; sibling gender; occupational choice; family formation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I2 J1 J3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 65 pages
Date: 2018-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-evo, nep-gen and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Working Paper: Origins of gender norms: sibling gender composition and women's choice of occupation and partner (2018)
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