About the project

 

 

Research

The transition to parenthood is a critical juncture for the reproduction of inequalities in the home and in the labour market. Research convincingly shows that heterosexual couples become more traditional after becoming parents, with women spending more time in care and housework. However, little is known about how this transition affects the division of labour and care in same-sex couples. The GENPARENT project critically assesses theories on the transition to parenthood by comparing the division of work and care and its career related consequences in heterosexual and same-sex couples. Based on large-scale quantitative data analyses as well as in-depth interviews, the project shed light on couples’ reasons and motives for their division of work and care. The project addresses these issues from an internationally comparative gender regime perspective by following couples’ transitions to parenthood in four Nordic countries, the Netherlands and the US.

Sub-projects

The GENPARENT project builds on three sub-projects that are closely linked: North, Regime and Voice. Each sub-project contributes an important piece of the puzzle to the full picture of the transition to parenthood and its work related consequences in the variety of families that constitute modern societies.

GENPARENT NORTH utilizes longitudinal, harmonized population register data from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden to follow couples as they transition into parenthood. The project provides a unique comparison of different- and same-sex couples in a most similar case setting with regards to family policy and gender culture.

GENPARENT REGIME combines a macro-level comparison of the social policy and legal frameworks that govern the transition to parenthood in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and the US, with micro-level analyses of the division of work and care in same- and different-sex couples. GENPARENT REGIME informs theory development on the household division of labour and add new perspectives on social rights and citizenship in varying social policy regimes.

GENPARENT VOICE explores the reasoning, expectations and experiences of the transition to parenthood in same-sex couples in the Netherlands and Sweden. In a first step, female parents-to-be are interviewed about how they envision parenthood and their plans for combining work and care. The in-depth interviews have a longitudinal design, following couples over time as they become parents. At a later stage, interviews with male couples as well as heterosexual adoptive parents are planned.

 

Publications

The GENPARENT research project has produced a number of publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

To the list of GENPARENT publications

 

The GENPARENT team

 The GENPARENT team is composed of an international group of researchers with backgrounds in sociology, economics and gender research. Additional collaborations strengthens the interdisciplinary, multi-method approach applied to answer the research questions (please see Publications).
 

Five of the researchers of the GENPARENT research group

The GENPARENT team: Maaike van der Vleuten, Ylva Moberg, Marie Evertsson, Eva Jaspers, Madeleine Eriksson and Weverthon Machado. (Missing: Allison Geerts)

 

Marie Evertsson

Marie Evertsson is Principal Investigator of the GENPARENT project. She is Professor of Sociology in Social Policy at SOFI, Stockholm University, and a fellow of the European Academy of Sociology. Evertsson’s research focus on the (gendered) division of paid work and care and the degree to which family policies influence individuals’ labor market prospects and income trajectories during the transition to parenthood. Evertsson is Associate Editor of the European Sociological Review.
 

 

Eva Jaspers

Eva Jaspers is Associate Professor of Sociology at Utrecht University, the Netherlands and a member of the Interuniversity Centre for Social Science Research and Methodology (ICS). Her research interests are inequalities based on gender, race/ethnicity and sexuality; diversity in social networks; and same-sex families. She has published in journals like European Sociological Review, Sex Roles, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Social Networks.

 

Ylva Moberg

Researcher Ylva Moberg

Ylva Moberg is a researcher at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University, and a member of the GENPARENT team. Ylva got her Ph.D. in Economics at Uppsala University in 2017, and has since continued working on the division of labor and consequences of parenthood, comparing same-sex and different-sex couples, and adoptive and biological parents. She also studies the impact of going through gender transition, using Swedish register data.

 

Maaike van der Vleuten

Maaike van der Vleuten is a researcher in the GENPARENT project, working at Stockholm University. Her research interests include gender inequality; educational trajectories; same-sex couples; and work and family behaviour. She has received grants regarding these topics from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and the Dutch national science foundation NWO, including a Talent Scheme VENI grant.

 

Weverthon Machado

Researcher Weverthon Machado

Weverthon Machado is a postdoc in the GENPARENT project, working at Utrecht University. His research interests lie mainly in the areas of social stratification and family dynamics and include union formation, marriage markets, the gendered division of labor and, more generally, the several forms of inequality between and within families. He holds a PhD from the Rio de Janeiro State University and before joining GENPARENT was a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute.

 

Allison Geerts

Allison Geerts

Allison Geerts is a sociologist and demographer with a M.Sc in Sociology and Social research from Utrecht University. She participated in the European Doctoral School of Demography (EDSD). Within the GENPARENT project, she is responsible for the qualitative interviews in the Netherlands. Her PhD project will be a mixed methods investigation of the division of labour in same-sex couples in the Netherlands, using register data and in-depth interviews. Her supervisors are Marie Evertsson and Eva Jaspers.

 

Madeleine Eriksson

Madeleine Eriksson

Madeleine Eriksson holds a Master's degree in Gender studies from Uppsala University. Within the GENPARENT project, Eriksson is responsible for the qualitative data collection in Sweden. The data is collected through in-depth interviews with lesbian couples who are expecting and having their first child. In her PhD project she will analyze the data with a particular focus on the couples' reasoning and realization of the division of paid work, housework and care related tasks. Her supervisors are Marie Evertsson and Fanny Ambjörnsson (Gender studies).

 

Previous activities

Some of our previous activities, such as workshops and presentations are listed here. To find upcomining events, have a look in our Calender.

To the GENPARENT Calender page


Workshop at Social Impact factory, Utrecht

2022-07-05

The Genparent team having a drink on a boat in sunny weather

Annual meeting of the GENPARENT team. We discussed drafts of interview guidelines, discussed ongoing research and plans for future projects

 

 

 



Workshop at Stora Brännbo, Sigtuna

2021-11-25/26

The Genparent team standing together smiling

Annual meeting of the GENPARENT Team. We presented papers, discussed ongoing research and plans for future projects.

Participants: Madeleine Eriksson, Marie Evertsson, Allison Geerts (online), Ylva Moberg and Maaike van der Vleuten, Stockholm University. Eva Jaspers and Weverthon Machado, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

 

 

 

Online Workshop 2020

2020-11-24/25

Online meeting, a computer screen shows people in different windows
Photo: Iuliia Sutiagina / Mostphotos

In the year of the Covid pandemic, the GENPARENT team held an online workshop on November 24-25, focusing on the work of the junior team members. We also discussed future research plans and ideas. Participants: Madeleine Eriksson, Marie Evertsson, Allison Geerts, Eva Jaspers, Ylva Moberg and Maaike van der Vleuten. External participant: Anna Lund, Stockholm University.

 

 

 

Workshop at Näsby Slott

2019-09-26/27

The Genparent team standing in front of a building, smiling

The aim of the workshop was to gather the researchers involved by the GENPARENT project. We presented and discussed ongoing research as well as plans for future projects.

Participants: Ylva Moberg, Eva Jaspers, Maaike van der Vleuten, Silke Aisenbrey, Allison Geerts, Marie Evertsson and Madeleine Eriksson.

 

Presentations

The researchers in the GENPARENT project have presented our work at conferences, workshops and seminars.

June 2023

  • Evertsson: “Social class inequalities in same-sex couples in the US, Sweden and Netherlands”, Conference of the European Society on Family Relations in Roskilde, Denmark.
  • Evertsson: Round table “Queer families: looking into the past, present and future”, Conference of the European Society on Family Relations in Roskilde, Denmark.
  • Moberg: “Splitting the penalty by taking turns? Earnings losses after first and second birth in same-sex and different-sex couples”, Conference of the European Society on Family Relations in Roskilde, Denmark.

May 2023

  • Evertsson: “An equal transition to parenthood? Social transfers and earnings development among couples transitioning to parenthood in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden” (co-authored with Moberg and van der Vleuten), the Hertie School, Berlin, Germany.
  • Geerts: “Building the family you want. Lesbian contraceptive practices inside/outside the fertility clinic”, Dag van de sociologie, Ghent University, the Netherlands.
  • Machado: “Social class inequalities between different-sex and same-sex couples in the United States, Sweden and the Netherlands, the LGBTQI* Seminar (online), coordinated by D. Boertien (CED Barcelona) and M. Fischer (Goethe University Frankfurt).
  • Moberg: “The earnings penalty in female same-sex and different-sex couples transitioning to parenthood in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden” (co-authored with Evertsson & van der Vleuten). Jönköping International Business School, Sweden.
  • Van der Vleuten: “Cash-for-Care and the costs of Parenthood. Evidence from Adoptive parents and Female Same-sex Couples in Finland“ (co-authored with Moberg), for the Flux Consortium (Family Formation in Flux – Causes, Consequences and Possible Futures) (online), University of Turku.

March 2023

  • Moberg: “Splitting the penalty by taking turns? Earnings losses after first and second birth in same-sex and different-sex couples.” (co-authored with van der Vleuten), the LGBTQI* Seminar (online), coordinated by D. Boertien (CED Barcelona) and M. Fischer (Goethe University Frankfurt). 

January 2023

  • Moberg: “Splitting the penalty by taking turns? Earnings losses after first and second birth in same-sex and different-sex couples.“ (co-authored with van der Vleuten) at QPaP - Queer Populations, Perspectives and Polices (online).

November 2022

  • Machado: “Money, childbearing, gender: explaining within-couple inequality after parenthood” (co-authored with Eva Jaspers), ODISSEI Conference for Social Science in the Netherlands, Utrecht, Netherlands, November 2022.
     
  • Moberg: “The earnings penalty in female same-sex and different-sex couples transitioning to parenthood in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden” (with Marie Evertsson & Maaike van der Vleuten) at The Swedish National Conference in Economics (Stockholm School of Economics).

 

September 2022

  • Moberg: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden” (co-authored with Evertsson and Van der Vleuten) at the EALE conference (Padua).

     

July 2022

  • Evertsson: “Joint utility or suboptimal outcomes? The household income penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples transitioning to parenthood in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden” (co-authored with van der Vleuten and Moberg). ECSR Annual Conference in Amsterdam.
     
  • Machado: “Money, childbearing, gender: explaining within-couple inequality after parenthood” (co-authored with Eva Jaspers), European Population Conference, Groningen, Netherlands, and European Consortium for Sociological Research, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
     
  • Moberg: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden” (co-authored with Evertsson and Van der Vleuten) at the ECSR Annual Conference (Amsterdam).
     
  • Van der Vleuten: “The division of labor of fathers in male same-sex couples” (co-authored with Evertsson and Moberg) at the ECSR Annual Conference (Amsterdam).

     

June 2022

  • Jaspers: "Doing Genders. Labor market behavior of individuals with both male and female partners using administrative panel data", presented at the Work Family Researchers Network, New York, US, June 25th.
     
  • Machado: “Money, childbearing, gender: explaining within-couple inequality after parenthood” (co-authored with Eva Jaspers), Dag van de Sociologie, Groningen, Netherlands, and Work and Family Researchers Network, New York, USA.
     
  • Moberg: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden” (co-authored with Evertsson and Van der Vleuten) at the 2nd Discrimination and Diversity Workshop (online).
     
  • Van der Vleuten: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden” (co-authored with Evertsson and Moberg) at the European Population Conference (EPC) (Groningen) and Work Family research Network (WFRN), New York, USA.
     
  • Van der Vleuten: "The Division of Labour of Parents in Same-Sex Couples" at the Sociology Department at Uppsala University.

     

May 2022

  • Evertsson: “Becoming parents. The transition to parenthood in same-sex and different-sex couples” The Faculty of Social Sciences of TU Dortmund, Germany (online seminar).
     
  • Jaspers: "Doing Genders. Labor market behavior of individuals with both male and female partners using administrative panel data", presented at the International Network for Analytical Sociology annual meeting, Florence, Italy.
     
  • Moberg: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden” (co-authored with Evertsson and Van der Vleuten) at the Society of the Economics of the Household Conference (London).


March 2022

  • Moberg: “Splitting the penalty by taking turns? Earnings losses after first and second birth in same-sex and different-sex couples.“ (co-authored with van der Vleuten) at Sociologidagarna (Uppsala University).
     
  • Van der Vleuten: “The division of labor of fathers in male same-sex couples” (co-authored with Evertsson and Moberg) at Sociologidagarna (Uppsala University).

 
January 2022

  • Evertsson: “Ungendering the transition to parenthood? Becoming parents in same-sex and different-sex couples in the Nordic countries” Keynote speech at the workshop LGBTQ+ and the Family at the Hertie School, Berlin.

November 2021

  • Evertsson: “The transition to parenthood in same-sex and different-sex couples. A theoretically informed multi-method approach” the LabFam Seminar Series (online seminar), University of Warsaw.
     
  • Moberg: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden” (co-authored with Evertsson and Van der Vleuten) at the University of Exeter Business School (online).


November 2021

  • Evertsson: "The transition to parenthood in same-sex and different-sex couples. A theoretically informed multi-method approach" at LabFam Seminar Series, University of Warsaw.


September 2021

  • Evertsson: “A family-friendly transition to parenthood? Social transfers and earnings development in different-sex and female same-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden” (co-authored with Moberg and van der Vleuten) at A multidisciplinary workshop on quantitative and qualitative research on life-changing transitions in the LGBTQ+ community, Stockholm University.
     
  • Eriksson:  "Similar imaginaries, different plans: Lesbian mothers-to-be imagine parenthood and parental leave" at the ESA conference, 2021.
     
  • Geerts: "Who Gives Birth (First)? Lesbian Mother’s Birth Mother Choice In The Netherlands" (co-authored with Evertsson) at the ESA conference, 2021.

     

June 2021

  • Van der Vleuten: "The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland" (co-authored with Evertsson and Moberg) at ISA RC28 Spring Meeting 2021.
         
  • Van der Vleuten: "The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland" (co-authored with Evertsson and Moberg) at “dag van de Sociologie” 2021.
     
  • Moberg: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland” (co-authored with Evertsson and Van der Vleuten) at the Annual Conference of the European Society for Population Economics (online).
     
  • Moberg: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland” (co-authored with Evertsson and Van der Vleuten) at the International Association for Feminist Economics Annual Conference (online).

     

May 2021

  • Evertsson: "The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland" (co-authored with Moberg and van der Vleuten) at the Population Association of America, Virtual Annual Meeting.
     
  • Moberg: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland” (co-authored with Evertsson and Van der Vleuten) at the workshop Research with German and Norwegian Register Data on Family Economics Workshop (online).

December 2020

  • Evertsson: "The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland" (co-authored with Moberg and van der Vleuten) at the RC 19 online conference, Globalization in Retreat? Welfare States Amid Regional Turbulence, arranged by the National Taiwan University.

     

November 2020

  • Van der Vleuten: "The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland" (co-authored with Evertsson and Moberg) at the Psychological Institute Female Research Network at Uppsala University.
     
  • Moberg: “The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland” (co-authored with Evertsson and Van der Vleuten) at the Economics of LGBTQ+ Individuals Virtual Seminar Series.

 
July 2020

  • Moberg and Van der Vleuten: "The child penalty in same-sex and different-sex couples in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland" (co-authored with Evertsson) at the ECSR conference (online).
     
  • Aisenbrey, Evertsson and Jaspers: "Social class inequalities in same-sex couples in the United States, Sweden and the Netherlands: Access as a route to equality?" at the ECSR conference. Presentation cancelled due to Covid-19.

     

March 2020

  • Evertsson: "Parentalization of Same-Sex Couples: Family formation and leave rights in five northern European countries" at the conference Sociologidagarna. Presentation cancelled due to Covid-19.
     
  • Eriksson: "Multiple Aspects or the Obvious Choice? Lesbian couples' negotiating the decision of (first) birth mother" at the conference Sociologidagarna. Presentation cancelled due to Covid-19.
         
  • Geerts: "Establishing equality within constraints: How lesbian mothers-to-be choose who carries the child and plan work and care after birth in the Netherlands" at the conference Sociologidagarna. Presentation cancelled due to Covid-19.

November 2019

  • Evertsson presented research on the theme "Parents, parenthood, parenting" at the Symposium Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Family Formation Policies at Humboldt University, Berlin.
     
  • Geerts presented "Establishing equality within constraints: How lesbian couples in the Netherlands choose who carries the first child and plan life and work after birth" at the Dutch Demography Day, Utrecth University.
     
  • Moberg presented the study "Mothers' giving birth status and division of parental leave - a comparison of adoptive and biological parents" at the Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy (IFAU) in Uppsala, Sweden.

     

September 2019

  • Moberg presented the study "Does the gender composition in couples matter for the division of labor after childbirth?" at the EAEPE Annual Conference special session on "Gender Economics and Social Identity" in Warsaw, Poland.

     

August 2019

  • Jaspers presented “Income Trajectories after Transitioning to Parenthood: Female Same-Sex Couples in the Netherlands” at the Conference on Economics of Sexual Orientation 2019, at the Linnaeus University in Växjö.
     
  • Evertsson and Boye presented "Who gives birth (first) in female same-sex couples in Sweden?" at the Conference on Economics of Sexual Orientation 2019, Linnaeus University in Växjö.
     
  • Moberg gave a poster presentation of "Does the gender composition in couples matter for the division of labor after childbirth?" at the Conference on Economics of Sexual Orientation 2019, Linnaeus University in Växjö.
     

June 2019

  • Moberg presented the study "Speedy responses: Effects of higher benefits on take-up and division of parental leave" at the Foundation for International Studies on Social Security (FISS) conference in Sigtuna, Sweden.
     
  • Moberg presented the study "Mothers' giving birth status and division of parental leave - a comparison of adoptive and biological parents" at the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

     

February 2019

  • Evertsson presented “The transition to parenthood in different-sex and female same-sex couples in Sweden. Identity formation, gender and the division of paid and unpaid work” at the Amsterdam Research Centre for Gender & Sexuality, Political Science Department, University of Amsterdam.
  • Moberg was invited to the pre-pride panel discussion "LGBTQ Perspectives on the Family and Discrimination" at Stockholm University.
     
  • Moberg presented the study "Mothers' birth giving status and the division of parental leave - a comparison of adoptive and biological parents" at the workshop Status, Resources, and Family: A Gender Perspective, Stockholm University.
     
  • Evertsson and Boye presented “Who gives birth (first) in female same-sex couples in Sweden?” at the Community, Work and Family conference in Malta.

     

April 2019

  • Jaspers presented "Family Diversity and Inequality" at Gender & Diversity Hub, Utrecht University.

     

March 2019

  • Evertsson was invited to talk about the transition to parenthood in same-sex couples at the Department of Sociology's higher seminar, Umeå University.
     
  • Jaspers, together with Katharina Stückradt and Ruben van Gaalen, presented "The motherhood wage penalty revistied: The case of female same-sex couples in the Netherlands" at the RC28 Spring Meeting, Goethe University of Frankfurt.
     
  • Evertsson and Jaspers presented "Family leave rights in same-sex parent families in the Nordic countries and the Netherlands" at the conference Towards resilient Nordic Welfare States, University of Helsinki.

 

February 2019

  • Evertsson presented “The transition to parenthood in different-sex and female same-sex couples in Sweden. Identity formation, gender and the division of paid and unpaid work” at the Amsterdam Research Centre for Gender & Sexuality, Political Science Department, University of Amsterdam.

December 2018

  • Evertsson presented “The transition to parenthood and the division of care and work in same-sex and different-sex couples” at the workshop Female Breadwinner Families funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council via a grant to Agnese Vitali, Univ. Of Southampton.

     

November 2018

  • Evertsson presented “Who becomes a (birth) mother? Transition to parenthood and the division of care and work in female same-sex couples in Sweden” at the Department of Sociology, University of Tübingen, Germany.

     

October 2018

  • Evertsson was a keynote speaker at the ECSR conference Causes and Consequences of Inequalities in Europe, Paris, France. The theme of the talk: “Families of the XXIst Century: Negotiating Gender, Work and Care”.
     
  • Eriksson presented the outline of her PhD-thesis at the Gender Academy conference "A Shift of Generations", Stockholm University.
 

Funding

This project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. ERC Consolidator Grant (No 771770) to principal investigator Marie Evertsson. It builds on a collaboration between the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) and Utrecht University, the Netherlands (UU), with Eva Jaspers (UU) as senior team member.

 

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