Family policy and gender-role attitudes in Germany - A quantitative analysis of the relationship between public policy and public opinion

Abstract

Title: Family policy and gender-role attitudes in Germany Author: Catriona Hansbauer Supervisor: Prof. Björn Halleröd Semester: Spring 2015 Using data from the 1991-2012 German General Social Survey, this thesis examines the relationship between family policy reform and gender-role attitudes among different socio-demographic groups in Germany. The research question is: What is the relationship between family policy reform and changing attitudes toward gender roles? More specifically the thesis ask: What is the directionality of the interaction between policy change and mass preferences and to what extent does social class matter in this relationship? Based on previous research it is argued that the attitudes of the upper class play a more important role compared to the attitudes of the lower and middle class. The empirical analysis shows that, overall, gender-role attitudes have become less traditional in Germany since the beginning of the 1990s. It is also shown that the majority of the policy reforms have created more incentives for mothers to re-enter the labour force. However, the empirical results do not allow any conclusions about the directionality of the relationship between policy change and attitudes, since the attitudinal change has been constant over the observed period of time. Moreover, there is no clear evidence that upper class attitudes have been more important for policy-makers than the attitudes of the lower and the middle class.