Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Psychology of Gender Through the Lens of Culture pp 239–264Cite as

Gender Roles Within the Family: A Study Across Three Language Regions of Switzerland

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

The present study focuses on gender roles and attitudes towards gender roles within the family among young adults in Switzerland. The study is based on a quantitative survey of 928 university students in the German-, French-, and Italian-speaking parts of Switzerland. The gender roles of mothers and fathers are conceptualized along three dimensions: household, childcare, and paid employment. The results concerning gender roles in the heritage family of our respondents are in line with findings of previous studies and show that the young adults in our sample grew up in families with unequal gender roles, where mothers were responsible for the household and childcare and fathers were the breadwinners. The mothers’ contribution to the household and their involvement in childcare and in paid employment differ significantly across the three main parts of Switzerland. Concerning prospective views on the gender roles in their future family, the young adults in our sample indicated a tendency towards egalitarian attitudes. However, mothers’ contribution to household labor and childcare was projected to be higher than that of fathers; at the same time fathers were foreseen as making a larger contribution to the family income than mothers in the prospective family. Moreover, attitudes towards gender roles in their future family differed significantly across the three major parts of Switzerland and were related to the differences in gender roles they experienced in their heritage family.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The calculation was performed by the first author using the data of the Federal Statistics Office of Switzerland (2014b). The calculation for the Romansh language region of Switzerland was not performed due to the incomplete data for this region.

  2. 2.

    The study included the following countries: Belgium (Flanders), China, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.

  3. 3.

    The study included the following nations: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Great Britain, East Germany, West Germany, Hungary, Northern Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Russia, and United States.

  4. 4.

    According to the Countries’ Gender Empowerment Index and to the gender division of labor in couples’ households the following four countries were found to be most gender-egalitarian: Norway, United States, Sweden, and Canada (Batalova & Cohen, 2002).

  5. 5.

    The study included the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, East and West Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United States.

  6. 6.

    The fourth, Romansh-speaking, part of Switzerland was not included in the study, because of difficulties in recruiting a sample with target characteristics from this language group, as it comprises only 0.5 % of the Swiss population (SFSO, 2014e).

  7. 7.

    The Italian-speaking part was not included in the national sample of Switzerland. The differences between the German- and the French-speaking regions were not reported for the cultural dimension ‘short/long term orientation’ (Hofstede, 2006).

  8. 8.

    The region position on each cultural dimension is relative to in total 74 countries/regions represented in the study (Hofstede, 2006).

  9. 9.

    The following universities participated in the study: in the German-speaking part the University of Bern and the University of Luzern, in the French-speaking part, the University of Neuchâtel and the University of Lausanne, and in the Italian-speaking part, the University of Lugano and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland.

  10. 10.

    Due to the study aim of assessing gender roles of mothers and fathers within the family, participants who grew up in a one-person household were excluded from the statistical analysis of the study.

  11. 11.

    The distribution of the three languages in the population of Switzerland is: German-speaking 64.9 %, French-speaking 22.6 %, and Italian-speaking 8.3 % (SFSO, 2014e).

References

  • Abele, A. E. (2013). A comparison of women’s and men’s professional success. Why is the gender gap still widening? Gender, 3, 41–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artis, J. E., & Pavalko, E. K. (2003). Explaining the decline in women’s household labor: Individual change and cohort differences. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65, 746–761. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00746.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balthasar, A., Müller, F., & Maisenbacher, J. (2010). Wie evidenzbasiert und gendersensibel ist die Politikgestaltung in Schweizer Kantonen? Soziale Sicherheit CHSS, 6, 305–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartley, S. J., Blanton, P. W., & Gillard, J. L. (2005). Husbands and wives in dual-earner marriages: Decision-making, gender role attitudes, division of household labor, and equity. Marriage & Family Review, 37(4), 69–74. doi:10.1300/J002v37n04_05.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batalova, J. A., & Cohen, P. N. (2002). Premarital cohabitation and housework: Couples in cross-national perspective. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 743–755. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00743.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botkin, D. R., Weeks, M. O. N., & Morris, J. E. (2000). Changing marriage role expectations: 1961–1996. Sex Roles, 42, 933–942. doi:10.1023/A:1007006702410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bovay, C., & Broquet, R. (2004). Religionslandschaft in der Schweiz. Neuchâtel: BFS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bricheno, P., & Thornton, M. (2007). Role model, hero or champion? Children's views concerning role models. Educational Research, 49, 383–396. doi:10.1080/00131880701717230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bühler, E. (2001). Frauen- und Gleichstellungsatlas Schweiz. Zürich: Seismo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation. Psychological Review, 106(4), 676–713. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.4.676.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Claffey, S. T., & Mickelson, K. D. (2009). Division of household labor and distress: The role of perceived fairness for employed mothers. Sex Roles, 60, 819–831. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9578-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, L. P. (2004). The gendered division of labor and family outcomes in Germany. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66(5), 1246–1259. doi:10.1111/j.0022-2445.2004.00090.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, M. (2007). Influences of women’s employment on the gendered division of household labor over the life course: Evidence from a 31-year panel study. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 422–444. doi:10.1177/0192513X06295198.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drobnič, S., & Blossfeld, H.-P. (2004). Career patterns over the life course: Gender, class, and linked lives. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 21, 141–166. doi:10.1016/S0276-5624(04)21008-3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (1999). The origins of sex differences in human behavior. Evolved dispositions versus social roles. American Psychologist, 54, 408–423. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.6.408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A., & Wood, W. (2011). Feminism and the evolution of sex differences and similarities. Sex Roles, 64, 758–767. doi:10.1007/s11199-011-9949-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A., & Wood, W. (2012). Social role theory. In P. van Lange, A. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories in social psychology (pp. 458–476). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A., Eaton, A., Rose, S., Riger, S., & McHugh, M. (2012). Feminism and psychology: Analysis of a half-century of research on women and gender. American Psychologist, 67, 211–230. doi:10.1037/a0027260.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fleiner, T. (2002). Recent developments of Swiss federalism. Publius, 32(2), 97–123. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a004949.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuwa, M. (2004). Macro-level gender inequality and the division of household labor in 22 countries. American Sociological Review, 69(6), 751-767. doi:10.1177/000312240406900601.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gazareth, P. (2003). Vereinbarkeit von Familien- und Berufsleben. In BFS (Ed.), Auf dem Weg zur Gleichstellung? Frauen und Männer in der Schweiz (pp. 151–161). Neuchâtel: BFS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Georgas, J., Berry, J. W., van de Vijver, F. J. R., Kağitçibaşi, C., & Poortinga, Y. H. (2006). Families across cultures: A 30-nation psychological study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511489822

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gere, J., & Helwig, C. C. (2012). Young adults’ attitudes and reasoning about gender roles in the family context. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36(3), 301–313. doi:10.1177/0361684312444272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herzog, W. (2002). Erinnerung an Vorbilder. Über eine Lücke in der pädagogischen Theorie. Neue Sammlung, 42, 31–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herzog, W., Böni, E., & Guldimann, J. (1997). Partnerschaft und Elternschaft, die Modernisierung der Familie. Bern: Haupt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofäcker, D. (2006). Women’s employment in times of globalization: A comparative overview. In H.-P. Blossfeld & H. Hofmeister (Eds.), Globalization, uncertainty and women’s careers (pp. 32–58). Northampton: Edward Elgar. doi:10.4337/9781781007495.00009

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. (2006). Lokales Denken, globales Handeln. Interkulturelle Zusammenarbeit und globales Management. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • INFRAS. (2005). Familienergänzende Kinderbetreuung in der Schweiz. Aktuelle und zukünftige Nachfragepotenzial (Kurzfassung der NFP-52 Studie). Zürich: INFRAS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, A., Eagly, A., Mitchell, A., & Ristikari, T. (2011). Are leader stereotypes masculine? A meta-analysis of three research paradigms. Psychological Bulletin, 137(4), 616–642. doi:10.1037/a0023557.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuczynski, L., & Grusec, J. E. (1997). Future directions for a theory of parental sozialisation. In J. E. Grusec & L. Kuczynski (Eds.), Parenting and children’s internalization of values: A handbook of contemporary theory (pp. 399–414). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lachance-Grzela, M., & Bouchard, G. (2010). Why do women do the lion’s share of household? A decade of research. Sex Roles, 63, 767–780. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9797-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lüdi, G., & Werlen, I. (2005). Sprachenlandschaft in der Schweiz. Neuchâtel: BFS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makarova, E., & Herzog, W. (2014). Geschlechtsuntypische Berufswahlen bei jungen Frauen: Muss das Vorbild weiblich sein? Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung und Sozialisation, 34(1), 38–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makarova, E., Herzog, W., Ignaczewska, J., & Vogt, B. (2012). Geschlechtsuntypische Berufs- und Studienwahlen bei jungen Frauen: Dokumentation der Projektphase 1 (Forschungsbericht Nr. 42). Bern: Universität Bern.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makarova, E., Herzog, W., Weber, K., & Kipfer, M. (2013). Familienportrait der Schweiz (Forschungsbericht Nr. 44). Bern: Universität Bern.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mannino, C. A., & Deutsch, F. M. (2007). Changing the division of household labor: A negotiated process between partners. Sex Roles, 56, 309–324. doi:10.1007/s11199-006-9181-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McHale, S. M., Crouter, A. C., & Whiteman, S. D. (2003). The family contexts of gender development in childhood and adolescence. Social Development, 12, 125–148. doi:10.1111/1467-9507.00225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miranda, V. (2011). Cooking, caring and volunteering: Unpaid work around the world. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 116. OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/5kghrjm8s142-en

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2012). Gender equality in education, employment and entrepreneurship: Final report to the MCM 2012. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renfrow, D. G., & Howard, J. A. (2013). Social psychology of gender and race. In J. DeLamater & A. Ward (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (pp. 491–531). New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6772-0_17

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Stern, S., & Felfe, C. (2010). Welche Rolle spielt die familienergänzende Kinderbetreuung für die Gleichstellung? Soziale Sicherheit CHSS, 6, 318–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, S., Banfi, S., & Tassinari, S. (2006). Krippen und Tagesfamilien in der Schweiz. Aktuelle und zukünftige Nachfragepotenziale. Bern: Haupt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swiss, F. S. O. (2014a). Vereinbarkeit von Erwerbsarbeit und Familie. www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/regionen/thematische_karten/gleichstellungsatlas/vereinbarkeit_von_familie_und_erwerbsarbeit/familienmodelle.html. Accessed 13 May 2014.

  • Swiss, F. S. O. (2014b). Eidgenössische Volkszählung 2012: Vereinbarkeit Beruf und Familie. www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/20/01/new/nip_detail.html?gnpID=2014-545. Accessed 13 May 2014.

  • Swiss, F. S. O. (2014c). Daten zu den Familien in der Schweiz. Available at www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/news/01/nip_detail.html?gnpID=2014-347. Accessed 13 May 2014.

  • Swiss, F. S. O. (2014d). Löhne, Erwerbseinkommen—Indikatoren. www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/03/04/blank/key/lohnstruktur/nach_geschlecht.html. Accessed 13 May 2014.

  • Swiss, F. S. O. (2014e). Sprachen, Religionen—Daten, Indikatoren. Available at www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/01/05/blank/key/sprachen.html. Accessed 13 May 2014.

  • UNECE (2011). Countries in Figures—Switzerland. Available at www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/profiles2011/Switzerland.pdf. Accessed 13 May 2014.

  • UNICEF (2008). The child care transition. A league table of early childhood education and care in economically advanced countries. Florence: UNICEF.

    Google Scholar 

  • WEF. (2013). The Global Gender Gap Report 2013. Geneva: WEF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zosuls, K. M., Miller, C. F., Ruble, D. N., Martin, C. L., & Fabes, R. A. (2011). Gender development research in Sex Roles: Historical trends and future directions. Sex Roles, 64, 826–842. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9902-3.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Educational Science, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Walter Herzog

  2. Centre for Teacher Education/Department of Education, University of Vienna, Porzellangasse 4, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Elena Makarova

Authors
  1. Elena Makarova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Walter Herzog
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elena Makarova .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    Saba Safdar

  2. University of Gdansk Institute of Psychology, Gdansk, Poland

    Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Makarova, E., Herzog, W. (2015). Gender Roles Within the Family: A Study Across Three Language Regions of Switzerland. In: Safdar, S., Kosakowska-Berezecka, N. (eds) Psychology of Gender Through the Lens of Culture. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14005-6_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation