West German Marriage and Family Law Reform

Rheinstein, Max; Glendon, Mary Ann

doi:10.2307/1599372

Cited by 3 publications

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“…This finding is particularly remarkable considering that until the early 1980s legislation in several Western countries gave husbands legally a stronger voice than their partner. For instance, in Germany, the husband still had to consent to his wife's labor market activity until a change in the family law in 1976 (Rheinstein & Glendon, ). In the Netherlands, the husband's opinion on important family decisions, such as children's education, legally outweighed the mother's stance until a family law change in 1984 (Holtrust & de Hondt, , p. 286).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Ideology and Women's Labor Market Transitions Within Couples in the Netherlands

Khoudja

Fleischmann

2018

J of Marriage and Family

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Ideology and Women's Labor Market Transitions Within Couples in the Netherlands

Khoudja

Fleischmann

2018

J of Marriage and Family

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“…Until 1977, the Marriage and Family law stated that: "The wife is responsible for running the household. She has the right to be employed as far as this is compatible with her marriage and family duties" (Rheinstein & Glendon 1978). Subsequent policies then alternated more or less conservative incentives for female participation in the labor market.…”

Section: The Socialist Episode In East Germanymentioning

confidence: 99%

Math, girls and socialism

Lippmann

Senik

2018

Journal of Comparative Economics

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This paper argues that the socialist episode in East Germany, which constituted a radical experiment in gender equality in the labor market and other instances, has left persistent tracks on gender norms. We focus on one of the most resilient and pervasive gender gaps in modern societies: mathematics. Using the German division as a natural experiment, we show that the underperformance of girls in math is sharply reduced in the regions of the former GDR, in contrast with those of the former FRG. We show that this East-West difference is due to girls' attitudes, confidence and competitiveness in math, and not to other confounding factors, such as the difference in economic conditions or teaching styles across the former political border. We also provide illustrative evidence that the gender gap in math is smaller in European countries that used to be part of the Soviet bloc, as opposed to the rest of Europe. The lesson is twofold: (1) a large part of the pervasive gender gap in math is due to social stereotypes; (2) institutions can durably modify these stereotypes.

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“…See alsoRheinstein and Glendon (1978).4 These diverging trends happened notwithstanding migration Cornelius and Tsuda (2004). reports that 730,000 Germans moved from the Soviet zone to the other zones in the late 1940s, and another 3.8 million moved from East Germany to West Germany between 1949 and the building of the Berlin Wall in August 1961; then only 600,000 Germans movedWest between 1961 and1988. …”

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confidence: 96%

Undoing Gender with Institutions: Lessons from the German Division and Reunification

Lippmann

Georgieff

Senik

2020

The Economic Journal

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Abstract Using the 41-year division of Germany as a natural experiment, we show that the German Democratic Republic’s gender-equal institutions created a culture that has undone the male breadwinner norm and its consequences. Since reunification, East Germany still differs from West Germany not only because of its higher female contribution to household income, but also because East German women can earn more than their husbands without having to increase their number of housework hours, put their marriage at risk or withdraw from the labour market. By contrast, the norm of higher male income, and its consequences, are still prevalent in West Germany.

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West German Marriage and Family Law Reform

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Gender Ideology and Women's Labor Market Transitions Within Couples in the Netherlands

Gender Ideology and Women's Labor Market Transitions Within Couples in the Netherlands

Math, girls and socialism

Undoing Gender with Institutions: Lessons from the German Division and Reunification

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