Project description
Understanding the challenges of sexual minorities on the journey to parenthood
While some countries in Europe fully recognise same-sex parenting rights, these families face barriers to having children. Structural inequalities are a big challenge. The ERC-funded QPATHS project aims to analyse the parenthood trajectories of same-sex and different-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden between 1990 and 2022. With access to extensive population register data, it will analyse inequalities in family formation among these groups and examine the role of institutional factors. Complementing this, one of the largest surveys on sexual minorities will study the personal experiences of these populations in family formation, identifying unique barriers they encounter.
Objective
QPaths provides unprecedented insights into the pathways and challenges faced by sexual minorities in achieving their family goals. Despite the growing acceptance of same-sex families and the expansion of their legal rights, they still face significant challenges in their decision to have children, particularly compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Yet, a critical gap remains in understanding these inequalities in family formation, as well as the specific barriers and support systems that shape these pathways. QPaths addresses these knowledge gaps through two interrelated parts.
The first part provides unparalleled demographic insights into family formation among sexual minorities by examining parenthood trajectories of individuals in same- and different-sex couples in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands (1990-2022). This reveals inequalities in who can form and expand their family between same- and different-sex couples and breaks new ground on the role of institutional factors in shaping parental outcomes. With established access to population register data from five countries, the project can leverage the largest longitudinal, cross-national data source on same-sex relationships to date.
The second part studies the personal pathways behind these patterns by focussing on preferences, experiences, and behaviors in the family formation process of sexual minorities. Using insights from demography, sociology, psychology, and gender and sexuality studies, it develops a theoretical model that explains sexual minorities’ family formation process by identifying barriers unique to them. Conducting a large-scale, representative, longitudinal survey of individuals in same- and different-sex relationships allows us to study family formation over time and across sexual orientations. This results in a unique, open-access dataset on family formation among sexual minorities, offering valuable opportunities for future research into their family dynamics.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1011 JV AMSTERDAM
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.