Demographic and Socio-Economic Profiles of Same-Sex Couples in Austria

Gwen Göltl

Family and fertility research has long centered on heterosexual couples but is increasingly addressing LGBTIQA+ individuals and same-sex couples. Still, there is insufficient representative evidence on most countries’ sexual minority populations. In Austria, register data became recently available, opening up new possibilities for research. I will present initial results from the project “Same-Sex Families in Austria” (SAMFA), the first to use these new data to gain insights on same-sex families in Austria. The family life of same-sex parent families and couples in Austria has been subject to major policy changes in official unions, fertility and adoption in the last 15 years. For instance, marriage of same-sex couples was introduced in 2019. Using administrative register data from 2010 onwards provided by the Austrian Micro Data Center (AMDC), the characteristics of female and male same-sex couples who are married or in a registered partnership with and without children as well as unmarried same-sex parents can be examined. Even though this data does not contain information on individual sexuality or gender identity, it covers the whole population, thus providing sufficient numbers for minority groups. The analysis answers questions such as: How did the number of same-sex couples in registered partnerships and marriage change over the last 15 years? What is the age of same-sex couples at marriage compared to different-sex couples? How many couples live with children and how many children grow up with a same-sex couple? Is equality in income differences and employment patterns higher in same-sex couples?

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 Presented in Session P1. Families, Fertility, and the Life Course 1