{"id":228,"date":"2026-02-12T16:19:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/?page_id=228"},"modified":"2026-08-24T11:29:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T09:29:05","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

GenFam examines how demographic behaviour, gender relations, and family structures are evolving in Switzerland. The project focuses on three closely connected societal developments: the diversification of family forms, persistent inequalities in the division of paid and unpaid work, and sustained low and postponed fertility. Switzerland provides an important case for studying these dynamics because social change in family behaviour has occurred alongside a comparatively limited expansion of family policies and strong reliance on private arrangements for organising care and employment, as well as structural constraints such as the high cost and limited availability of childcare and the federal organisation of policy-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project comprises four substantial work packages<\/strong> and is guided by three overarching analytical perspectives<\/strong>: life-course, intersectionality, and cross-national comparison. Together, these perspectives provide a comprehensive framework for understanding how family trajectories evolve over time, how inequalities emerge and differ between social groups, and how institutional and cultural contexts shape demographic behaviour across countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More concretely, the four work packages (WPs) of GenFam focuse on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Family structures, relationships, and well-being<\/strong><\/summary>\n

This work package examines how the growing diversity of partnership and household arrangements relates to social support and individual well-being. It explores attitudes toward different family forms as well as the resources individuals can mobilise within and beyond the family, including friendships and broader social networks. The analyses also explore how these patterns differ across social groups and national contexts. Team: Clementine Rossier<\/a>, N\u00faria S\u00e1nchez-Mira<\/a>, Myriam Girardin<\/a>, Eric Widmer<\/a>, Fei Bian<\/a>, Abdi Bulti<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

2. Gender relations and the organisation of work<\/strong><\/summary>\n

This research area analyses how couples organise paid employment and domestic responsibilities. Particular attention is given to the relationship between gender role attitudes and everyday household practices. It also investigates how educational attainment, occupational characteristics, and labour market opportunities shape partners\u2019 employment patterns and the division of unpaid work. Team: Stephanie Steinmetz<\/a>, Irene Kriesi<\/a>, Jean-Marie Le Goff<\/a>, Miriam Gr\u00f8nning<\/a>, Mena L\u00fcsse<\/a>, Antje Stefani<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

3. Fertility behaviour and reproductive decision-making<\/strong><\/summary>\n

This research area focuses on the factors shaping fertility intentions and outcomes, including delayed parenthood and increasing childlessness. It examines how reproductive decisions are influenced by gender relations, economic resources, cultural norms, and perceptions of uncertainty. This also includes attitudes toward and the use of reproductive technologies across different social groups. Team: J\u00f6rg R\u00f6ssel<\/a>, Katja Rost<\/a>, Clementine Rossier<\/a>, Marco Giesselmann<\/a>, Jacob Schmechel<\/a>, Angela Christen<\/a>, Pascal Daniel Seger.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

4. Policy context and institutional responses<\/strong><\/summary>\n

This research area examines the policy environment relevant to families, gender equality, and reproduction in Switzerland. Through policy mapping, document analysis, and expert consultations, it assesses how existing policies address the societal developments examined in this project and identifies areas where institutional responses may lag behind social change, including potential gaps between policy frameworks and lived realities. Team: Gesine Fuchs<\/a>, Isabelle Zinn<\/a>, Florentina Mender<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consortium members <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Supported by<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GenFam examines how demographic behaviour, gender relations, and family structures are evolving in Switzerland. The project focuses on three closely connected societal developments: the diversification of family forms, persistent inequalities in the division of paid and unpaid work, and sustained low and postponed fertility. Switzerland provides an important case for studying these dynamics because social […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1003106,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-228","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1003106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":695,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/228\/revisions\/695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/genfam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}