The Gender Egalitarian Family Model: Empirical and Theoretical Problems

Abstract

* A Rejoinder to this article is published here: Gietel-Basten, Stuart 2026: Gender Egalitarianism, Fertility, and an Attribution Error: a rejoinder on “The Gender Egalitarian Family Model: Empirical and Theoretical Problems”. In: Comparative Population Studies 51: 427-440. https://doi.org/10.12765/CPoS-2026-18

In the demographic literature, gender egalitarianism has become the leading prescription for successful family (re)production in highly developed countries. Recent trends bring into question the case for the gender egalitarian family model, however. Its empirical claims are dependent on the transient experience of the Nordic countries in the 1990s and 2000s as well as on an amalgamation effect in the comparative national data. Its theoretical basis is challenged by social processes including rising female childlessness and young male reaction against gender egalitarianism. A reckoning with the limitations of this family model is important for both social scientists and policymakers seeking explanations for contemporary low fertility and family decline in the advanced Western democracies.