Gender Attitudes in Luxembourg Between 1999 and 2008

This paper uses European Values Study (EVS) data from 1999 and 2008 to examine the evolution of gender role attitudes in Luxembourg. The paper focuses on three aspects of the attitudinal changes. First, it analyses whether the gender role beliefs measured by three scores (childcare, homemaking and economic aspects) have changed during the past decade. Second, it examines whether these changes have equally touched men and women of different age categories. Third, it analysis whether the gender gap in attitudes towards gender roles diminishes over time. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that during the past ten years Luxembourg’s residents have become significantly less traditional regarding gender role attitudes, mainly when it comes to attitudes towards the consequences of female employment on children and the economic aspects of the gender roles. Young women are the strongest supporters of the more egalitarian division of labour between the sexes, while young men lag behind their female counterparts. This gender gap appears to persist especially in case of attitudes towards homemaking.