Abstract This study examines the implications for gender equality of the increasing prevalence of heterosexual couples in which the woman is more highly educated than the man (‘educational hypogamy’). It provides a structured overview of competing theoretical predictions regarding the association of hypogamy with gender equality within couples and formulates specific hypotheses that address selection into hypogamous unions. Using data from the Generations and Gender Survey and employing diagonal reference models, the study investigates how hypogamy relates to gender attitudes and the gender division of labour within couples, net of partners’ educational attainment levels. Results indicate that hypogamy is associated with a more egalitarian division of paid work, particularly among parents, and with fathers expressing more supportive attitudes towards maternal employment. However, although hypogamous women are more strongly engaged in the labour market after becoming mothers than their counterparts in homogamous unions, their partners’ contributions to household chores do not increase proportionately, reflecting a pattern consistent with the ‘stalled gender revolution’ theory. Thus, hypogamy is associated with more gender equality in labour market participation but not with a more equitable sharing of household tasks.

Abstract Interactional incidents are a common object of survey studies on perceived discrimination and of field experiments on discrimination in social interaction. However, this commonality in object has been obscured by a fundamental difference in operationalization: survey studies measure the discriminatee’s experience, whereas field experiments measure the discriminator’s behaviour. To renew the conceptualization of discrimination as a mechanism of health disparities, the article advances an original analysis of discrimination as a stressor that emphasizes its environmental origin. The heart of the analysis is the concept of stressful discrimination, defined as a group-based difference in treatment that generally causes stress to the target. Stressful discrimination is a mechanism of stress causation that includes but is more encompassing than perceived discrimination (the focus of most research in the area). Relying on a double-randomization design, two interlocking field experiments illustrate this mechanism. Together, the experiments show that women who wear the Islamic headscarf in France are the target of stressful discrimination.

Abstract The enduring imbalance in the distribution of housework between men and women persists as a factor perpetuating gender inequality. Attitudes acquired during the ‘formative years’ often persist into adulthood; thus, it is crucial to identify the ways in which individuals develop gender norms during adolescence. While studies have provided convincing evidence that parents influence their children’s support for gender equality, both through passing on their attitudes directly and by setting an example through behaviours, we still know very little about how these influences affect the development of gender stereotypes about housework among adolescents. We build on social learning theory and existing literature to test if parents’ gender attitudes and distribution of housework influence whether their children stereotypically associate certain chores with men or women. In addition, we propose a further parental influence on their children’s gender stereotypes: the nature of parental decision-making arrangements. Using four waves of the Czech Household Panel Survey, we find evidence that all three factors affect adolescents’ housework gender stereotypes. Notably, we contribute to the literature by demonstrating the importance of consensual decision-making arrangements in promoting lower gender stereotypes in adolescence. Furthermore, we find that the effect of housework distribution is moderated by adolescents’ gender.

Abstract Research shows that cultural tastes are socially stratified. Yet, most of this research relies on small-sample surveys and includes only a few dimensions of stratification. To address these limitations, we analyse registry data on library borrowing for the entire adult population of Denmark and consider four dimensions of social stratification: wealth, education, income, and occupation. We find considerable social stratification in library borrowing and in highbrow literary tastes by wealth and education, but not by income and occupation. As Denmark is characterized by higher wealth and educational stratification than income and occupational stratification, our results suggest that although cultural tastes always seem to be socially stratified, the type of stratification likely depends on the nature of the wider inequalities within a given context. We end by discussing the implications of our results, including how stratification of tastes according to wealth represents a type of stratification not considered in existing research on cultural stratification.

Abstract People's life trajectories and family dynamics have become increasingly complex, bringing shifts in fertility, gender equality, work-life balance, and economic stability. The scientific challenge is to capture these complexities and understand their causes and consequences. The Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) provides key insights into these developments, serving as a vital resource for researchers and policymakers. The GGS is a cross-national longitudinal survey collecting data on individuals aged 18 to 79 across topics such as union formation, fertility, household dynamics, work, well-being, and gender attitudes. Its key strengths include cross-national comparability, a panel design with prospective and retrospective data, large sample sizes, and multi-mode data collection. The GGS consists of two rounds: GGS-I, launched in the early 2000s in over 20 countries, established a foundation for comparative research, while GGS-II, started in 2020, builds on GGS-I with methodological innovations such as mixed-mode data collection and refreshed samples. This data brief provides an overview of the GGS, outlining its development, design, implementation, and key features. It also highlights the survey's contributions to demographic and social research, and explores the new research opportunities emerging with GGS-II.

Abstract In Israel, a high school matriculation diploma is a prerequisite for academic studies. ‘Second chance’ alternatives can bypass this requirement. Although originally designed to offer disadvantaged groups greater access to higher education, the alternatives may also serve as a ‘compensatory advantage’ mechanism for students from affluent backgrounds. This study examines both possibilities. Based on administrative data of children born in Israel from 1978-1983, a logistic regression analysis was performed that predicts the odds of being accepted to higher education studies. Interactions are between students’ background characteristics – parental education, their class and ethnicity – and high school matriculation. Additional analysis predicts future income of high-road and second-chance users from different backgrounds. The findings consistently show that students from advantaged backgrounds utilize second chance mechanisms more often than disadvantaged students do. It appears that second chance alternatives represent an example of an institutionalized system of ‘compensatory advantages’ that benefits students from affluent backgrounds.

Abstract This paper describes sexual harassment risks from two groups of perpetrators in Swedish nationally representative survey data. We find that both women and men face elevated risks of intraorganizational sexual harassment from colleagues or manager when working in occupations dominated by the opposite sex. In contrast, they face elevated risks of extraorganizational harassment from outside groups like patients, customers, or clients when working in women-dominated occupations. Amounts of interpersonal contacts with potential perpetrators appears to be a relevant mechanism behind these patterns: gender minorities in occupations have more workplace interactions with individuals of the opposite sex, and workers in women-dominated occupations have more interactions with outside groups. The results also suggest that gender norms on occupation choice further contribute to the victimization of gender minorities at the hands of both perpetrator groups.

Abstract This article expands on previous research on gene-environment (GxE) effects on socio-economic status, by stepping beyond the family dimension and exploring how the neighbourhood context interacts with education linked genes in influencing educational achievement. While some evidence suggests that genetic links to education are more fully expressed in high socio-economic status families, other findings indicate that individuals with lower genetic predisposition for education benefit more from high socio-economic contexts. We argue that the neighbourhood environment may also play a role on the relationship between genes and education-related outcomes. We find evidence that living in socioeconomically advantaged neighbourhoods contributes to closing the gap between individuals characterized by high and low genetic predispositions towards educational achievement, with this effect primarily driven by influences on academic motivation, rather than cognitive skills. These findings emphasize that environmental contexts can shape the unfolding of genetic endowment and point to an important role of the neighbourhood in compensating for pre-existing disadvantage, thus contributing to improve chances of upward social mobility and to limit the reproduction of social inequalities in education over time.

Abstract Grouping students into different classes based upon their academic achievement or ability is a relatively common practice across the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. Yet some argue that teaching students in mixed-ability classes is a better approach, with important benefits for those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Unfortunately, existing evidence comparing outcomes across these approaches is scant. This paper hence provides new international evidence on this matter, drawing upon data from the 2015 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study study. Our results point towards null effects; neither approach leads to demonstrably better outcomes for students than the other. This also holds true for young people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, suggesting that between-class ability grouping does not harm the educational prospects of these children. Some limited evidence does emerge, however, that primary school teachers believe they are better able to support struggling students—and challenge the highest achievers—when ability grouping is used.

Abstract Important reforms are necessary to adjust today’s welfare states to the challenges of post-industrial knowledge economies. Public opinion, however, is often sceptical towards large-scale reforms, especially when the benefits will accrue only in the future. We analyse the conditions that affect citizens’ support for such reforms on the basis of original survey experiments from two novel public opinion surveys in nine countries. We test the role of ‘supply-side factors’, referring to characteristics of the reform design itself (its policy field, distributive reform effect, time horizon, and costs) and ‘demand-side factors’, that is, respondents’ characteristics and ideological orientations. We argue and demonstrate that among these ‘demand-side factors’, positions on the socio-cultural ideological dimension between universalism and particularism are key to explaining support for future-oriented social investment reforms. We thereby provide robust new evidence highlighting the role of ‘second dimension politics’ for welfare state reform.