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- Award ID(s):
- 1919218
- PAR ID:
- 10557802
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- Sage
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- ISSN:
- 0146-1672
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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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
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Remote Work, Gender Ideologies, and Fathers’ Participation in Childcare during the COVID-19 PandemicJacobs, Jerry (Ed.)
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work became the new reality for many fathers. Though time availability theory suggests that this newfound flexibility should lead to more domestic labor on the part of fathers, many were skeptical that fathers would step up to shoulder the load at home. Indeed, the findings are decidedly mixed on the association of fathers’ remote work with their performance of housework and childcare. Nonetheless, research has yet to consider how contextual factors, such as fathers’ gender ideologies and mothers’ employment, may condition these associations. Using data from Wave 1 of the Study on U.S. Parents’ Divisions of Labor During COVID-19 (SPDLC), we examine how gender ideology moderates the association between fathers’ remote work and their performance and share of childcare during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in both sole-earner and dual-earner families. The results show, for sole-earning fathers and dual-earner fathers with egalitarian gender attitudes, that the frequency of remote work was positively associated with fathers performing more, and a greater share of, childcare during the pandemic. Yet, only dual-earner fathers with egalitarian gender attitudes performed an equal share of childcare in their families. These findings suggest that the pandemic provided structural opportunities for fathers, particularly egalitarian-minded fathers, to be the equally engaged parents they desired.
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The COVID-19 pandemic had numerous consequences for work and family, but one of the most important was the substantial increase in remote work. Despite interest in changes to remote work and questions about whether the new environment of remote work will persist long-term, we know little about variation in workers’ experiences with remote work since the beginning of the pandemic. In this data visualization, we use longitudinal data on U.S. working parents from 2020–2023 and group-based trajectory models to illustrate varying patterns of remote work for partnered parents. The heterogeneity of parents’ experiences with remote work throughout the pandemic reveals important nuances not previously identified in tracking polls and highlights important gender differences that likely had implications for mothers’ and fathers’ well-being and gender equality.
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Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender‐based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental‐leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (
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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.