To date most studies of social closure in the stratification orders of industrial societies have used as their empirical indicators one or another measure of father-to-son mobility. A complementary insight into such processes is provided by tendencies towards status homogamy. Census data from the 1981 Australian census (the one per cent sample tape) for 4 different cohorts of married couples provide a basis for assessing to what extent there has been any change over time in the stratification of marital choices, as reflected in the school leaving ages and post-school qualifications of spouses. The findings point to no loosening in the bonds of stratification since 1950, although there is some slight evidence of differences among those who married during the 1940s.
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