Families, gender and support for gender equity policies
Rebecca Warner and Brent S. Steel
Oregon State University
Contact Email:   bsteeloregonstate.edu

Social scientists have found that raising daughters versus raising sons can have a significant effect on parental values and behaviors. For example, research suggests that when sons are present, fathers participate more in some dimensions of family life. Other research has found that having daughters results in stronger parental agreement with gender equity. Our paper expands this research by examining support for public policies that are specifically designed for gender equity while controlling for SES, religiosity, and political ideology. Using data from a recent survey conducted in the western United States, we examine if raising daughters or sons makes parents more or less supportive of gender equity policies. The hypothesis underlying this research is that when daughters are present, parents become more aware of inequities that exist in society that relate to gender, and because parents want what is best for their children, they will want a world that treats girls fairly. Our findings suggest that parents are indeed influenced by the gender of children. However, the effect varies by gender of the parent and the public policy issues involved.

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