Educational hypogamy and gender equality within couples: a review of competing hypotheses and evidence from the Generations and Gender Survey

Abstract This study examines the implications for gender equality of the increasing prevalence of heterosexual couples in which the woman is more highly educated than the man (‘educational hypogamy’). It provides a structured overview of competing theoretical predictions regarding the association of hypogamy with gender equality within couples and formulates specific hypotheses that address selection into hypogamous unions. Using data from the Generations and Gender Survey and employing diagonal reference models, the study investigates how hypogamy relates to gender attitudes and the gender division of labour within couples, net of partners’ educational attainment levels. Results indicate that hypogamy is associated with a more egalitarian division of paid work, particularly among parents, and with fathers expressing more supportive attitudes towards maternal employment. However, although hypogamous women are more strongly engaged in the labour market after becoming mothers than their counterparts in homogamous unions, their partners’ contributions to household chores do not increase proportionately, reflecting a pattern consistent with the ‘stalled gender revolution’ theory. Thus, hypogamy is associated with more gender equality in labour market participation but not with a more equitable sharing of household tasks.