Are Gender Norms Shaped by Who Earns More?

Hanna Brosch, Elisabeth Grewenig, Philipp Lergetporer (), Katharina Werner and Helen Zeidler
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Hanna Brosch: Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Elisabeth Grewenig: Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Frankfurt
Philipp Lergetporer: ifo Institute, CESifo, Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Katharina Werner: ifo Institute, CESifo, Pforzheim University, IZA Bonn
Helen Zeidler: Technical University of Munich (TUM)

Munich Papers in Political Economy from Munich School of Politics and Public Policy and the School of Management at the Technical University of Munich

Abstract: Gender norms about parental labor supply are central to explaining persistent gender inequalities in the labor market, yet their causal determinants remain poorly understood. We examine whether people’s gender attitudes are driven by mothers’ and fathers’ earnings, which may shape views about the efficient allocation of paid work and care. In a large-scale representative vignette experiment in Germany (N > 10,000), we randomly vary pre-childbirth earnings and measure whether respondents recommend that the mother (father) stay home with the child while the father (mother) works full-time. Without specifying earnings, 90% recommend that the mother stay home. This share remains high when we specify that the mother earns less (93%). When she earns more, the share drops sharply to 47%, yet nearly half of respondents still recommend that the mother stay home. This asymmetric response rejects a purely income-based explanation of gender norms. Thus, economic circumstances shape gender attitudes, but deeply rooted norms persist even when they conflict with financial incentives.

Keywords: gender norms; labor supply; gender; survey experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C90 D13 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2026-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp
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