June 02, 2025 | News

Rethink Fertility and Gender Inequality in a Changing World

Recap of the “Gender Inequalities, Fertility, and the Future of Family Demography: Intersectionality in an Era of Family Complexity” conference in Rostock

In March 2025, researchers from six continents gathered at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) for the “Gender Inequalities, Fertility, and the Future of Family Demography: Intersectionality in an Era of Family Complexity” conference in Rostock. The scholars came together to debate and advance the understanding of fertility, gender inequality, social stratification, and the growing complexity of family life.

The conference on gender inequalities, fertility and the future of family demographics was held at the MPIDR in Rostock in March 2025. © MPIDR/Schulz

The conference program was organized by the Research Group Gender Inequalities and Fertility, headed by Nicole Hiekel. During the panel discussion, "Advancing Fertility Research," invited speakers Alessandra Trimarchi (University of Messina), Trude Lappegard (University of Oslo), Brienna Perelli-Harris (University of Southampton), and Daniele Vignoli (University of Florence) discussed key challenges in fertility research and emphasized four main points:

Dominant theories need to better reflect today's diverse family patterns and partnership dynamics.
Gender and social inequalities are central to understanding who forms unions and has children.
New methods and data are needed to capture complexity and intersectionality.
Fertility research must engage with public debates on care, precarity, and family change.

More than 50 studies conducted by researchers at all stages of their careers were presented at the conference. "The conference brought together emerging and established scholars and research from six continents in the fields of gender inequality, fertility, social inequality, and family complexity. Over three days, participants shared exciting work from projects that proposed new theories and tested old ones. They also presented cutting-edge methods and novel applications for research and introduced data collection processes ranging from focus groups and interviews to harmonized data from over 100 countries," explains Nathan Robbins, a scientist at MPIDR who was part of the conference's organizing team.

Philip Cohen (University of Maryland) delivered a thought-provoking lecture titled “Depopulation, pronatalism, and doing demography in public” that encouraged researchers to look beyond traditional pronatalist agendas. Cohen argued for focusing on social inequalities, gender issues, and empowering individual choices. He offered insights on communicating research to skeptical audiences, maintaining reflexivity in quantitative work, and integrating public engagement into academic career paths without compromising scientific integrity.

“The overall atmosphere of the conference was positive and supportive, creating a space for expanding networks and fostering collaboration. For several participants, this was their first experience presenting to an international audience at this level, and I can’t think of a better place to start", Robbins resumes.