When does her education relate to his attitudes? Spousal education and gender-role attitudes across macro-contexts

This study develops a context-bargaining account of how macro conditions shape the relational significance of spouses’ education for gender-role attitudes. Using World Values Survey data from 56 countries (N = 49,238), we combine multilevel dominance analysis and cross-level interaction models to examine gendered asymmetries in own- and spouse-education associations. Spouse education is the dominant educational correlate of men’s attitudes, whereas own education dominates among women. These asymmetries become more pronounced in contexts where women have greater economic opportunities, while secular values show little evidence of comparable moderation. The findings demonstrate that the relational significance of education is context dependent: women’s education carries greater weight within marriage where broader opportunity structures allow educational resources to be translated into economic leverage and bargaining capacity.