Gender-role behavior of second-generation Turks: The role of partner choice, gender ideology and societal context

This study explores and compares gender-role behavior of second-generation Turks in six European countries. On the individual level, we study the role of gender ideology and consequences of (transnational) partner choice on four aspects of gender-role behavior; childcare, routine household tasks, financial matters, and income contribution. Furthermore, we ask whether welfare state regimes and policies have a similar effect on the gender-role behavior of the second generation across countries, as they have on the majority populations. Analyzing data from the survey The Integration of the European Second Generation (TIES, 2006-08), we find that the gender-role behavior of second-generation Turks follows a typology based on gender relations and predominant family models, but mainly for the traditionally female domain of childcare and routine household tasks. Our results show that contributing to the household income is clearly shared in Sweden, but less so in the other countries. Taking care of financial matters follows no clear country pattern and women are twice as likely as men to indicate this as a shared task. The findings underline the importance of policies in shaping gender-role behavior also for migrants and their descendants. Intra-group comparison points to the strong influence of gender ideology on behavior and to the fact that men choosing a partner from Turkey live in couples where the division of labor is the most traditional. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.