Couples' careers revisited: the role of gender ideologies

We assess the role of gender ideologies for couples’ work trajectories, using data from the German panel study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS). First, we conduct a multichannel sequence analysis to identify work trajectories of heterosexual couples in their early-to-mid-career phase, as this is the time when many couples start having children. Second, trajectories are predicted based on both partners’ individual and joint gender ideologies as well as social structural characteristics. We identify six typical work trajectories: (1) dual fulltime, (2) one-and-a-half earner, (3) breadwinner-homemaker, and (4) marginal secondary, all featuring a male fulltime earner. Whereas dual full-time and one-and-a-half earner models are rather widespread, each covering around 30 percent of couples, the other two trajectories are less frequent (covering 13, respectively 12 percent of couples). The last two patterns are the least frequent: (5) dual limited and unstable employment (11 percent), and (6) dual precarious (3 percent). Regression models indicate that gender ideologies matter for some but not all joint work trajectories. Most importantly, gender ideologies predict dual fulltime trajectories: couples’ joint egalitarianism fosters – and essentialist believes in separate spheres hinder – adopting this trajectory. At the same time, these essentialist believes increase the likelihood of adopting a marginal secondary earner trajectory. Our findings reflect the interrelated and partly reverse-causal relationship between couples’ gender ideologies, social structural characteristics and paid work trajectories.