Rising female-headed households: shifts in living arrangements or heightened gender symmetry?

Censuses and surveys predominantly report men as heads of households or reference persons despite women carrying out most domestic and care work. Recent evidence, however, suggests that an increasing number of households are headed by women. Using data from the newly released CORESIDENCE database, which includes over 770 data points from 156 countries worldwide spanning from 1960 to 2021, this study presents the first global map of female headship, traces its recent evolution, and compares female-headed households with male-headed ones based on selected household characteristics. The results confirm the widespread increase in female headship in virtually all world regions. Nevertheless, significant cross-national differences persist, and changes are not uniform across all regions. Spatial and temporal variations in female headship can be attributed, in part, to structural shifts in living arrangements, specifically the decreased presence of adult men in households. Female headship, however, is rising beyond the structural transformation of households. Women are increasingly likely to head households even in the presence of adult men, particularly their male partners. This might be indicative of normative changes towards gender symmetry. We discuss the potential factors behind these transformations and consider their implications for further research and gender equality.