Gender Segregation in Childhood Friendships and the Gender-Equality Paradox

Manuel Bagues () and Natalia Zinovyeva ()
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Manuel Bagues: University of Warwick
Natalia Zinovyeva: University of Warwick

No 17988, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Gender segregation in higher education persists across developed countries and is paradoxically stronger in wealthier, more gender-equal societies. Using data from over 500,000 children across 37 Western countries, we show that this segregation has roots in childhood. We document a strong correlation at the country level between segregation in higher education and in childhood friendships. Longitudinal data from 10,000 British households further shows that children with fewer opposite-sex friends at age 7 are significantly more likely to select gender-dominated educational subjects a decade later. The stronger segregation observed in richer countries seems to reflect economic prosperity rather than backlash against gender equality: while children from wealthier households report fewer cross-gender friendships, those whose parents hold more gender-egalitarian views have more opposite-sex friends. We identify two mechanisms explaining this income gradient: affluent families’ structured activities that emphasize children’s self-expression foster gender-segregated environments, and higher-income children’s personality traits reduce demand for cross-gender friendships.

Keywords: gender equality paradox; cross-gender friendships; women in STEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J16 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-ltv
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