FRA_F_02 Value Conflict, Labour Division, and Social Cohesion from a Gender Perspective

Objectives / Research Questions

Gender is an important factor in achieving social cohesion. Gender relations, however, have been particularly affected by social change in recent decades (Connell 2005; Peterson / Hughey 2004). As a result, across Europe various work-care models currently compete in terms of family and labour market policy. Related to this, both egalitarian and essentialist gender ideologies and family ideals have spread, whose social-structural foundations and consequences have not yet been researched (Grunow et al. 2018; Grunow / Evertsson 2016; Knight / Brinton 2016).

Against this background, this research project assesses, first, whether the competing gender and family ideals are related to other values such as cultural openness or closure, solidarity, and voting behaviour. Related to this, the project investigates why far more men than women identify with populist and right-wing conservative parties (Harteveld et al. 2015; Bieber et al. 2018) and how these differences cluster within couples and families.

Second, we ask whether the political mobilization of gender issues by political parties leads to new forms of political polarization and how this relates to other cultural and socioeconomic dividing lines. We also examine whether and how different models of labour division within families affect the politicization of gender identities.

Third, the project examines the determinants and consequences of different forms of labour division within families for the reproduction of social inequalities. We expect to observe a decoupling of (more traditional and essentialist) attitudes (IV), on the one hand, and practices regarding the gender division of labour (DV), on the other hand, especially in the lower-middle and lower classes, which are threatened by descent. These processes should lead to an accumulation of economic disadvantage, especially for women.

Thematic Reference to Social Cohesion

Gender is a central dimension of social inequality, a structuring aspect of social milieus, and also a significant factor for social cohesion. So far, research investigating social cohesion from a gender perspective has been fragmented and needs to be developed more systematically. The project contributes to investigating the consequences of social cohesion in the RISC framework.

Literature

Bieber, Ina; Roßteutscher, Sigrid; Scherer, Philipp 2018: Die Metamorphosen der AfD-Wählerschaft: Von einer euroskeptischen Protestpartei zu einer (r)echten Alternative?, in: Politische Vierteljahresschrift 59:3, 433-461.

Connell, Raewyn 2005: A really good husband: Work / Life Balance, Gender Equity and Social Change, in: Australian Journal of Social Issues 40:3, 369-383.

Grunow, Daniela; Begall, Katia; Buchler, Sandra 2018: Gender ideologies in Europe: A multidimensional framework, in: Journal of Marriage and Family 80:1, 42-60.

Grunow, Daniela; Evertsson, Marie (Hrsg.) 2016: Couples’ transitions to parenthood: Analysing gender and work in Europe, Cheltenham.

Harteveld, Eelco et al. 2015: The gender gap in populist radical-right voting: examining the demand side in Western and Eastern Europe, in: Patterns of Prejudice 49:1–2, 103-134.

Knight, Carly R.; Brinton, Mary C. 2017: One egalitarianism or several? Two decades of gender-role attitude change in Europe. American Journal of Sociology, 122:5, 1485-1532.

Peterson, N. Andrew; Hughey, Joseph 2004: Social Cohesion and Intrapersonal Empowerment: Gender as Moderator, in: Health Education Research 19:5, 533-542.