Gender and the timing of marriage: Rural-urban differences in Java

I address the need to look at marriage behavior by both males and females in developing societies. Using event history analysis, I focus on gender differences in rural, as opposed to urban, Central Java and argue that modern social contexts are not necessarily more egalitarian with regard to the marriage process and gender roles than are traditional social contexts. The findings support the conclusion that, in Java, modern urban settings may be responsible for increased gender role differentiation. Although urbanization has meant better educational access and later, more self-choice marriages for women, it has also meant lower rates of participation in the labor force and the adoption of conjugal norms supportive of women's economic dependence on men. Thus, in rural areas there are the greatest similarity in the determinants of marriage timing for Javanese men and women, particularly with regard to their economic roles: Participation in any type of work delays marriage for both sexes. In contrast, employment facilitates marriage for urban men and indicates their provider role, whereas it has no effect on the timing of marriage for urban women, who are more influenced by the ideologies imparted through schooling.