The Generations and Gender Programme (GGP) is a large international research programme that collects comparative and longitudinal data on family dynamics, fertility, partnerships, intergenerational relations, and life-course transitions. Coordinated by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), the programme combines nationally representative surveys with contextual data to study how demographic behaviour is shaped by social, economic, and institutional conditions. Its core component, the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS), follows individuals aged 18–79 across multiple waves, allowing researchers to analyse changes in family formation, parenting, work–family balance, and ageing over time. Conducted in numerous countries across Europe and beyond since the mid-2000s, the GGP provides harmonised longitudinal data that enable both cross-national and life-course research on demographic and gender-related processes.
The GGP is funded through a decentralised, multi-source funding structure. The programme’s central coordination is hosted by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) and receives support from national research funding bodies and European research infrastructures. At the same time, participating countries typically secure their own funding. In Switzerland, the surveys are financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through the GenFam project.
The GGP uses a longitudinal survey design to collect harmonised data on individuals’ life courses and family trajectories. Its main data collection instrument, the GGS, is a nationally representative panel survey that follows respondents over three waves collected within seven years. The survey uses questionnaires to gather detailed retrospective and prospective information. In addition to individual-level data, the GGP also provides contextual databases with macro-level indicators on policies and institutional conditions, enabling researchers to analyse how demographic behaviours and family dynamics vary across countries and policy contexts.
In Switzerland, a random sample was drawn from the sampling register of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, in accordance with Art. 13c, para. 2, lett. d, of the Ordinance on the Execution of Federal Statistical Surveys dated 30 June 1993. The sample includes those aged 18-59 living in Switzerland. Data collection is conducted in self-completion mode.
The GGS covers a broad range of topics, including:
- Partnership dynamics: union formation, cohabitation, marriage, separation, and repartnering
- Fertility and family formation: childbearing intentions, timing of births, and transitions to parenthood
- Intergenerational relationships: exchanges of support, care arrangements, and contact between generations
- Gender roles and the division of labour: attitudes toward gender equality and the allocation of paid and unpaid work
- Employment and economic conditions: labour market participation, employment histories, and economic resources
- Work–family reconciliation: strategies and constraints in combining paid work with family responsibilities
- Health, well-being, and ageing: health status, life satisfaction, and later-life transitions
These topics enable researchers to analyse demographic behaviour and gender relations across the life course and in comparative cross-national contexts.
The baseline questionnaire can be accessed here: [link to GGP website].
The questionnaires that were fielded in Switzerland can be accessed here: [link to the FORS website]
Data access can be requested here: Data – Generations & Gender Programme
