Pathways and obstacles to parenthood among women in same-sex couples in Spain

Diederik Boertien, Clara Cortina and Mariona Lozano
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Diederik Boertien: Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED)
Clara Cortina: Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Mariona Lozano: Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED)

Demographic Research, 2024, vol. 50, issue 35, 1039-1070

Abstract: Background: Even though same-sex couples face clear obstacles to parenthood, little is known about the extent to which preferences and obstacles can explain the lower levels of parenthood among individuals in same-sex couples. Objective: The objective is to document routes into parenthood and to quantify the gap between observed and desired number of children among women in different-sex and same-sex couples in Spain. Methods: We use the representative 2018 Spanish fertility survey, which includes 14,556 women, of whom 139 are in a same-sex couple. We use coarsened exact matching techniques to match women across couple types who are identical on a set of observable characteristics. Results: Less than half of women in a same-sex couple had children by the age of 40, as compared to around 80% of women in a different-sex couple. We do not observe changes in rates of parenthood across cohorts of women in same-sex couples, but do observe changes in the pathways followed. Even though women in same-sex couples have lower levels of desired fertility, the gap between desired and realized fertility is larger for women in same-sex couples than for women in different-sex couples. Conclusions: Overall, results show that obstacles to parenthood are prevalent among women in both different-sex and same-sex couples, but appear particularly high and persistent for the latter. Contribution: We are the first to quantify differences in the extent to which parenthood desires are met between women in same-sex and different-sex couples in Spain, using representative data.

Keywords: parenthood; same-sex couples; assisted reproduction; LGBTQ; fertility desires; family (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:50:y:2024:i:35

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2024.50.35

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