GenFam – (Un)changing Gender Relations, Family Dynamics, and Fertility in Switzerland from a Comparative Perspective – is a four-year interdisciplinary research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF, 2026–2030). It examines how family diversity, gender relations, and fertility are evolving in Switzerland and across Europe, responding to three interconnected societal challenges: the diversification of family forms, persistent gender inequalities in paid and unpaid work, and sustained low fertility combined with delayed parenthood.
Adopting a life-course, intersectional, and comparative perspective, GenFam analyses how individual trajectories, social inequalities, and institutional contexts jointly shape family life and demographic behaviour.
To address these issues, GenFam is participating – for the first time – in the Generations and Gender Programme (GGP) and will collect – together with the Swiss Center for Data and Service for the Social Science (FORS) – longitudinal data through the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS). These data will allow researchers to analyse life-course transitions, partnership and family dynamics, gendered divisions of labour, fertility intentions and outcomes, and intergenerational relationships in a cross-national comparative framework. Furthermore, by combining this large-scale quantitative survey data with a comprehensive qualitative policy analysis, the project aims to generate new insights into how institutional contexts, cultural norms, and individual life trajectories interact to shape family behaviour and gender relations in contemporary Switzerland, and whether the country is prepared to face these pressing societal challenges.