Types of marital relations, gender roles, and socioeconomic differentials in Brazil

Abstract

The changes in family patterns since the second half of the 20th century require examining family structure beyond traditional size and composition. Cultural, institutional, and value-based transformations in society, along with their effects on the formation and dissolution of families, indicate that couple formation and domestic arrangements are increasingly diverging from the traditional model of gender specialization (male breadwinner/female homemaker). This paper examines the changes occurring in Brazil by exploring the relationships between gender role symmetry, types of marriage, and the organization of domestic responsibilities among spouses and partners. Utilizing data from the 2014 PNAD, Brazilian couples are classified along a spectrum of gender role traditionalism through a methodological approach known as latent profile analysis. The evidence indicates that a significant portion of couples in the country continue to follow a traditional division of responsibilities, with 42.4% adhering to this model. Additionally, nearly 39% of couples display traits of what is known as the "stagnant gender revolution." In these partnerships, women contribute financially alongside their partners, but they do not share domestic duties with them. Only a small proportion of couples with high educational levels and high incomes share domestic responsibilities equally, with only 12.6% achieving this balance. An analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between marital types, family formation, and gender egalitarian behaviors using multinomial logistic regression. The dependent variable represents the couple's stance on the spectrum of gender role traditionalism. The results indicate that more egalitarian partnerships may be more attainable for women who are formally married and have higher education.