The Reversal of the Gender Gap in Education and Trends in Marital Dissolution
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4522656 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christine R Schwartz (0000-0001-8407-1065, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Hongyun Han (0000-0003-2969-3907, Northwestern University) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 79 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 605-629 |
| Publication date | 2014-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Sociological Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-1224 • E-ISSN: 1939-8271 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0003122414539682 |
| PMID | 25364012 |
| PMCID | PMC4212646 |
| OpenAlex | W2139008285 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 128 |
| References cited | 67 |
The reversal of the gender gap in education has potentially far-reaching consequences for marriage markets, family formation, and relationship outcomes. One possible consequence is the growing number of marriages in which wives have more education than their husbands. Past research shows that this type of union is at higher risk of dissolution. Using data on marriages formed between 1950 and 2004 in the United States, we evaluate whether this association has persisted as the prevalence of this relationship type has increased. Our results show a large shift in the association between spouses' relative education and marital dissolution. Specifically, marriages in which wives have the educational advantage were once more likely to dissolve, but this association has disappeared in more recent marriage cohorts. Another key finding is that the relative stability of marriages between educational equals has increased. These results are consistent with a shift away from rigid gender specialization toward more flexible, egalitarian partnerships, and they provide an important counterpoint to claims that progress toward gender equality in heterosexual relationships has stalled
Association (psychology · Counterpoint · Demographic economics · Economics · Gender equality · Gender gap · Marital status · Population · Sociology · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender Studies · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 128 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,33 |
| Citation span | 1971 - 2026 (56) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 128 |