An official website of the United States government
Using data from 15 countries, this article investigates whether descriptive and prescriptive gender norms concerning housework and child care (domestic work) changed after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of a total of 8,343 participants ( M = 19.95, SD = 1.68) from two comparable student samples suggest that descriptive norms about unpaid domestic work have been affected by the pandemic, with individuals seeing mothers’ relative to fathers’ share of housework and child care as even larger. Moderation analyses revealed that the effect of the pandemic on descriptive norms about child care decreased with countries’ increasing levels of gender equality; countries with stronger gender inequality showed a larger difference between pre- and post-pandemic. This study documents a shift in descriptive norms and discusses implications for gender equality—emphasizing the importance of addressing the additional challenges that mothers face during health-related crises.
more »
« less
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Working Mothers: A Phenomenological Study
In this phenomenological study, we explored the experiences of 13 working mothers in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to this crisis, mothers in the workforce encountered barriers to their success. Study findings reflect that these challenges have been exacerbated during the pandemic as women experienced increased childcare and other second shift responsibilities. Results highlight participants’ strategies for navigating pandemic-related disruptions. Participants’ experiences further amplify the need for revision of women’s second shift expectations as well as better support for mothers in the workforce.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1824015
- PAR ID:
- 10281379
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- World journal of education and humanities
- Volume:
- 3
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2687-6779
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 15-35
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
To date, most criminal justice research on COVID-19 has examined the rapid spread within prisons. We shift the focus to reentry via in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals in central Ohio, specifically focusing on how criminal justice contact affected the pandemic experience. In doing so, we use the experience of the pandemic to build upon criminological theories regarding surveillance, including both classic theories on surveillance during incarceration as well as more recent scholarship on community surveillance, carceral citizenship, and institutional avoidance. Three findings emerged. First, participants felt that the total institution of prison “prepared” them for similar experiences such as pandemic-related isolation. Second, shifts in community supervision formatting, such as those forced by the pandemic, lessened the coercive nature of community supervision, expressed by participants as an increase in autonomy. Third, establishment of institutional connections while incarcerated alleviated institutional avoidance resulting from hyper-surveillance, specifically in the domain of healthcare, which is critical when a public health crisis strikes. While the COVID-19 pandemic affected all, this article highlights how theories of surveillance inform unique aspects of the pandemic for formerly incarcerated individuals, while providing pathways forward for reducing the impact of surveillance.more » « less
-
Rising domestic burdens for mothers fueled concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated gender inequalities in well-being. Yet, survey research has not considered whether and how cognitive labor—planning, organizing, and monitoring family needs—contributed to gendered health disparities during the pandemic. Using data from the Study on U.S. Parents’ Divisions of Labor during COVID-19 (SPDLC) and a stress process perspective, we examine the association between cognitive labor and parents’ psychological well-being, and whether this association (1) differs between mothers and fathers and (2) is moderated by employment status and telecommuting. Mothers performed more cognitive labor during the pandemic than fathers, and cognitive labor was negatively associated with mothers’ psychological well-being—particularly for mothers who never or exclusively telecommuted. Mothers’ psychological well-being was higher when fathers did more cognitive labor, especially among mothers who worked outside the home. Overall, cognitive labor appears to be another stressor that contributed to increased gender inequality.more » « less
-
Background: Research on parents’ divisions of domestic labor during the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on average changes in housework and childcare during the pandemic’s first year, limiting our understanding of variation in parents’ experiences as well as the long-term consequences of the pandemic for gender inequality. Objective: This study identifies distinct patterns of change in U.S. parents’ divisions of housework and childcare from Spring 2020 to Fall 2023 and factors associated with changes in parents’ divisions of domestic labor. Methods: We use five waves of survey data (2020-2023) from partnered U.S. parents along with group-based trajectory and fixed effects models to identify longitudinal trajectories of parents’ divisions of housework and childcare and key factors that are associated with these trajectories. Results: Most U.S. parents (75-80%) maintained the same division of domestic labor throughout the pandemic. Nonetheless, one-quarter experienced long-term changes. Parents were equally as likely to transition to a nontraditional division of housework as a traditional one (10%), but were four times more likely to transition to a nontraditional division of childcare as a traditional division (21 vs. 5%). Parents were more likely to shift toward a nontraditional division of domestic labor when mothers worked full-time (and earned more income) and fathers worked from home at least sometimes during the pandemic. Contributions: Overall, results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the long-term division of domestic labor in only a minority of families. Where change has occurred, however, it has been long-lasting, and in the case of childcare, it has tended to reduce gender inequalities rather than exacerbate them.more » « less
-
Abstract Multi‐institutional educational partnerships are a promising approach to developing the skilled technical workforce. Inexorably, the ability to maintain such partnership networks that support skilled technical workforce education was disrupted by COVID‐19. The purpose of this study is to explore Southwest Virginia's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)‐focused multi‐institutional partnership networks, to inventory the disruptive impacts of COVID‐19, and to identify how partnership stakeholders navigated these challenges to prepare students for the skilled technical workforce. This work presents a single‐case study design, highlighting the evolving landscape of STEM workforce education partnership networks in Southwest Virginia throughout the pandemic. The team conducted interviews with 19 regional stakeholders focused on the participants' role throughout the pandemic, barriers to STEM workforce education presented by public health and economic factors, and innovative strategies to sustain and expand partnership networks through COVID‐19. Two key themes emerged from this study: successful partners maintained network connections through adaptive interactions and actors within the network served as brokers to leverage their connections and expand partnerships in the face of adversity. By taking a contextual view of the role of partnership networks in creating equitable STEM workforce pathways during COVID‐19, we develop rich insights into partnership formation, collaboration, resource allocation, and programming amidst challenges to their success.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- The DOI is not currently available.
