Living Arrangements by Gender and Society

Albert Esteve, Center for Demographic Studies (Barcelona)
Rita Trias-Prats, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

This paper examines gender differences in living arrangements across societies, drawing on 405 samples from censuses and surveys from 107 countries conducted between 1970 and 2020. We propose a classification of living arrangements and analyze gender differences by age. Additionally, we develop and test a macro-level framework to explore global variations in the gender gap. The results reveal that gender disparities in living arrangements begin to emerge globally in the late teens / early twenties, driven by differences in union formation and childbearing. This gap widens further at older ages due to the cumulative effects of union dissolution and widowhood. The magnitude of this age-related pattern varies significantly depending on whether family coresidence is nuclear or extended in nature. Trends over time indicate that the gender gap is continuing to widen. Macro-level factors, such as kin availability and coresidence norms, account for a substantial part of the global variation in this gap and the change over time. These findings offer insights into how gender gaps in living arrangements may evolve in the future.

Keywords: Gender Dynamics, Families, Unions and Households, Data visualisation

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