The intergenerational transmission of gender roles in the household. The case of Spain

We study the parent-child transmission of gender roles in Spain using the Time-Use Survey of 2009-2010 (INE). Although this topic has been studied in other countries where gender differences are lower, there are few studies that analyze the phenomenon in a country where differences between male and female are more pronounced and traditional gender roles are more established. Using an indicator based on differences in unpaid work between siblings of different gender, we analyze the effects of parent characteristics, such as mothers’ occupation, fathers’ participation in domestic work, household income and parents’ education on the degree of transmission of gender roles. These variables are shown to explain much of the variation in child gender roles, supporting an important effect of child-parent mimicry in gendered behavior.