Sibling group sex composition and gender-typical educational choices

Abstract

Educational choices are heavily stratified by gender. In this study we examine whether an important structural factor in the family of origin, sex composition of the sibling group, affects the emergence of the gender-typed preferences that may drive these choices. Using Swedish population register data, we use multinomial logistic regression models to examine educational choices at upper-secondary school (N = 424,788) and university (N = 133,222) for first-born Swedish men and women in two-child sibling groups, with analyses based on cohorts born 1980–2003. We further examine whether there are any differences in educational choices by parental educational level. We focus on first-born children in two-child families, and we present supplementary analyses for second-born children. We find that men in two-child sibling groups with brothers are more likely to apply for female-dominated upper-secondary programs than men with sisters, while men with sisters are significantly more likely to follow some male-dominated tracks than men with brothers. These differences are concentrated amongst men raised by parents with lower education. However, we do not find that sex composition is associated with university subject choices for men, and we do not find any differences in educational choices for women by the sex composition of the sibling group. These results suggest some support for the predictions that a mixed sex sibling group can lead to a more gender-typed upbringing for men.