Links between gender role attitudes and fertility changes between 1990–2017: Lithuania from a comparative perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Fundamental fertility changes in developed countries and persistently low fertility rates are increasingly being interpreted using concepts of gender equality, gender equity, and gender revolution. This article analyzes links between gender role attitudes and fertility in Lithuania between 1990–2017 from a comparative perspective. Lithuania is compared to Sweden and Estonia, as well as Austria, France, and Italy. Based on seven data sets, the analysis is done using cluster analysis and binary logistic regression approaches. The findings reveal country-specific differences and similarities. First, in most countries, those who support the most traditional attitudes toward gender roles are the likeliest to have children. Second, Lithuania is the most traditional society; it is the slowest of the countries analyzed to transition to egalitarianism, and its gender role attitudes that significantly affect fertility are changing. Finally, in some cases, in the most traditional society, Lithuania, and the most egalitarian, Sweden, a new trend is emerging, whereby those who have supported non-traditional attitudes toward gender roles are more likely to have children.