Unions and Childbearing: Converging Gender Roles in Finland

One distinguishing trait of Finnish fertility during the last decades is the increase in the proportion of families having three or four children. We study how socio-economic status (SES) and numbers of unions relate to above-average (3+) parities among Finnish men and women across age cohorts. In previous studies of wealthy low-fertility countries, both male SES and number of unions has often been shown to increase fertility, while their effect on women is mixed or negative.

We use the FINNUNION data, a 11% sample of all Finnish-born persons resident in Finland during 1970–2010 and covering the fertility of age cohorts 1930-1960. It includes data on coresidential unions and marriages, childbearing and central socioeconomic indicators of the index persons on an annual basis. It also includes sociodemographic indicators and childbearing history of all partners in marriage or cohabitation of the index person.

Results show that across all male cohorts, higher social status increases the proportions of 3+ children. There is no comparable clear trend among women, although the negative effect of female education on higher parities diminishes over time. Interestingly, the gender differences appear to diminish among younger cohorts. We discuss reasons for the shift towards gender equality in mating patterns in families with many children.