Explaining Egalitarianism in Gender-Role Attitudes: The Impact of Sex, Sexual Orientation, and Background Variables

The present study examined differences in egalitarianism in gender-role attitudes in Israel according to participants' sex, sexual orientation, and background variables. Egalitarianism in gender-role attitudes was examined in three domains: work, family, and interpersonal relations. Matching the homosexual to the heterosexual participants according to basic demographic variables yielded a final sample of 228 (97 men and 131 women). Of these, 114 were homosexual and 114 were heterosexual. The findings indicated that women's gender-role attitudes were more egalitarian than those of men and that the attitudes of homosexuals were more egalitarian than those of heterosexuals in all three domains. It was further found that differences between men and women were smaller among the homosexuals than among the heterosexuals in the work domain. The contribution of most of the background variables, except for the variables age and status of intimate relationships (living or not living with a partner), to explaining egalitarianism in gender-role attitudes was similar among homosexuals and heterosexuals as well as among men and women.