Attitudes toward gender roles in child-rearing and their socioeconomic differentials in contemporary China

Abstract

Gender inequality in the division of childcare between parents has long been a focal topic in the field of family and marriage research. Drawing on Chinese Childbearing and Parenting Intentions and Behaviors Survey (CCPIBS) and employing latent class analysis modeling strategies, this article examines attitudes toward gender roles in child-rearing among Chinese people and how they are shaped by socioeconomic determinants. The empirical findings show that the distribution of attitudes toward the gender division in childcare conforms to three ideal types: the traditional “mother-oriented” parenting style, the “father-oriented” parenting style, and the “parental collaboration” parenting style. Among these, the “mother-oriented” type continues to be predominant, but the “father-oriented” and “parental collaboration” types are gaining acceptance. The results also show that attitudes toward gender division in child-rearing are influenced by multiple socioeconomic determinants in contemporary China: educationally and occupationally advantaged groups, urban hukou holders, and younger cohorts are more likely to hold more egalitarian and liberal views regarding child-rearing, suggesting that trends in gender ideology in child-rearing could be explained using structural theories of attitudinal change.