Women’s opportunities have been profoundly altered over the past century by reductions in the social and structural constraints that limit women’s educational attainment. Do social constraints manifest as a suppressing influence on genetic indicators of potential, and if so, did equalizing opportunity mean equalizing the role of genetics? We address this with three cohort studies: the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS; birth years 1939 to 1940), the Health and Retirement Study, and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health; birth years 1975 to 1982). These studies include a “polygenic score” for educational attainment, providing a novel opportunity to explore this question. We find that within the WLS cohort, the relationship between genetics and educational outcomes is weaker for women than for men. However, as opportunities changed in the 1970s and 1980s, and many middle-aged women went back to school, the relationship between genetic factors and education strengthened for women as they aged. Furthermore, utilizing the HRS and Add Health, we find that as constraints limiting women’s educational attainment declined, gender differences in the relationship between genetics and educational outcomes weakened. We demonstrate that genetic influence must be understood through the lens of historical change, the life course, and social structures like gender.

中文翻译：

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基因、性别不平等和教育程度

在过去的一个世纪里，由于限制妇女受教育程度的社会和结构性制约因素的减少，妇女的机会发生了深刻的变化。社会限制是否表现为对潜力遗传指标的抑制影响，如果是，机会均等是否意味着遗传的作用均等？我们通过三项队列研究来解决这个问题：威斯康星纵向研究（WLS；出生年份 1939 至 1940）、健康与退休研究和全国青少年健康纵向研究（添加健康；出生年份 1975 至 1982）。这些研究包括教育程度的“多基因评分”，为探索这个问题提供了新的机会。我们发现，在 WLS 队列中，女性的遗传学和教育成果之间的关系比男性弱。然而，随着 1970 年代和 1980 年代机会的变化，许多中年妇女重返学校，随着年龄的增长，遗传因素与教育之间的关系得到加强。此外，利用 HRS 和 Add Health，我们发现随着限制女性受教育程度的限制减少，遗传学与教育成果之间关系的性别差异减弱。我们证明，必须通过历史变化、生命历程和性别等社会结构的视角来理解遗传影响。遗传学与教育成果之间关系的性别差异减弱。我们证明，必须通过历史变化、生命历程和性别等社会结构的视角来理解遗传影响。遗传学与教育成果之间关系的性别差异减弱。我们证明，必须通过历史变化、生命历程和性别等社会结构的视角来理解遗传影响。