Causes, consequences, and challenges from a compartive perspective (GenFam)
GenFam is the first comprehensive project to systematically examine six key societal challenges related to persistent gender inequalities in paid and unpaid work, increasing family diversity, and declining fertility in Switzerland. Conducted in collaboration with ten partners from seven Swiss universities, the project adopts a comparative, cross-national, and multi-method research design that integrates quantitative evidence with in-depth qualitative analysis.
Structured around four work packages and eight sub-projects, GenFam applies life course, intersectional, and comparative perspectives. From a life course view, it explores how key transitions such as parenthood or divorce shape inequalities over time. An intersectional lens highlights how these dynamics differ by gender, cohort, education, socio-economic status, and migration background, while a comparative perspective examines how institutional contexts—policies, regulations, and social norms—shape these developments in Switzerland and across Europe. This also enables an assessment of the adequacy of Swiss policies and the identification of areas for improvement.
Drawing on newly collected longitudinal and cross-national data from the Swiss Generation and Gender Survey (GGS), GenFam provides a unique empirical foundation for testing hypotheses at both micro and macro levels. By combining statistical and policy analyses, the project will make a significant contribution to social policy research, informing scholars and policymakers design more effective strategies to address key societal challenges related to gender, family, and fertility.
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