Culture and the gender gap in gender role attitudes: evidence from second-generation immigrants

Abstract

Egalitarian gender role attitudes are linked to gender equality in various socioeconomic outcomes. Using data from the European Social Survey (ESS), this study examines the relationship between country-of-ancestry gender culture and the gender gap in gender role attitudes among second-generation immigrants from 46 different countries of ancestry residing in 18 host countries. The results indicate that a higher degree of gender equality in the country-of-ancestry is associated with more egalitarian gender role attitudes for both females and males, with the association being significantly stronger for males. We find that the gender gap is smaller among second-generation immigrants originating from countries with greater gender equality. Moreover, we provide evidence that vertical transmission of gender culture from parents to their children is less pronounced for second-generation immigrants with only one foreign-born parent than for those with two foreign-born parents.