What are we learning about gender equality?

DIAL researchers brief European Commission Gender Equality team

Equal Lives PI Susan Harkness joined other researchers from the DIAL research programme to outline what the Equal Lives project has told us to date about gender equality.

Susan’s presentation outlined the research being undertaken by the Equal Lives team around gender equality to look at how economic disadvantage accumulates across young adulthood into mid-life and what that means for women and men.

She shared early findings from the project showing that economically successful life courses in the studied countries look very similar and how women are far less likely than men to experience this privileged type of life course moving from education to a stable, high-earning job with marriage and children.

She also explained how socio-economically disadvantaged life courses are country-specific with Germany and the UK showing a link between poor economic outcomes and larger family size (more children) whilst in Nordic countries, those doing less well were more likely to be childless.

Policy recommendations

  • early family support and education policy in Germany and the United Kingdom needs to target children from socio-economically disadvantaged back-grounds
  • Nordic countries might wish to consider greater support for single, childless adults with precarious employment

Further information