GenFam is the first comprehensive project to systematically examine six key societal challenges in Switzerland in comparative persoective through scientifically rigorous analysis. In collaboration with ten partners from seven Swiss universities, the project uses an innovative cross-national and multi-method research design that integrates quantitative evidence with in-depth qualitative research. This approach aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the consequences and interactions of increasing family diversity, evolving gender relations in both paid and unpaid work, and declining fertility rates. The project is structured around four major work packages and eight sub-projects, which use a life course, intersectional and comparative perspective to identify and analyse risks, vulnerabilities and inequalities at critical life stages and transitions. GenFam will account for the fact that the causes and consequences of family diversity and changing gender relations might be very different for younger cohorts, as well as women and men and people with different socio-economic, migrational or educational backgrounds.

To improve understanding of how institutional contexts influence the impact of societal changes in Switzerland, GenFam will use the Swiss Generation and Gender Survey (GGS) to collect novel, high-quality longitudinal and cross-national data. This will be combined with qualitative data on Swiss policies. The multi-method approach will ensure a comprehensive analysis and contextualisation of recent developments in changing gender relations, family diversity and low fertility in Switzerland.

The project will substantially expand the understanding of gender role complexity in contemporaneous Switzerland in relation to changes in the family and the workforce. Moreover, it will yield unprecedented insights into how attitudes and normative climates shape and impact couples’ and individuals’ general wellbeing and behavior regarding important life transitions, concrete task divisions and employment patterns. GenFam will provide answers regarding driving factors of fertility intentions and their realization. It will also benefit the broader research and stakeholder community by collecting for the first time the Swiss GGS – constituting the best available data source to analyze trends but also causes and consequences of changes in family dynamics, partnership formation and fertility decisions, and gender relationships in Switzerland and beyond. Insights from the comparative analyses of the Swiss GGS data will contribute substantially to the improvement of policies to tackle the consequences of increased family diversity and persistent gender inequality. Finally, the societal significance of GenFam lies in the mixed-methods approach to assess how the policy field responds to identified challenges. The immediate contextualization of the findings in the relevant policy context will allow not only the academic community but also policymakers to assess the need for more effective policies to address identified societal challenges. Ultimately, the project will make a groundbreaking, long-lasting contribution to the development of improved policies in Switzerland.