Mothers' paid work suffers during pandemic, study finds
Gender gap in work hours could have enduring consequences

Date:
July 13, 2020
Source:
Washington University in St. Louis
Summary:
New research finds early evidence that the pandemic has exacerbated
- - not improved -- the gender gap in work hours, which could have
enduring consequences for working mothers.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
When COVID-19 forced schools and daycares to shut down and millions of Americans to transition to working from home, some suggested the pandemic
might equalize certain aspects of gender equality as men increased their household contributions.


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Four months later, however, new research from Washington University in St.

Louis finds early evidence that the pandemic has exacerbated -- not
improved - - the gender gap in work hours, which could have enduring consequences for working mothers.

"Our findings indicate mothers are bearing the brunt of the pandemic
and may face long-term employment penalties as a consequence," said
Caitlyn Collins, assistant professor of sociology in Arts & Sciences
and co-author of the study.

Between March and April, mothers' work hours fell four to five times
as much as fathers', according to the study first published online in
Gender, Work and Organization in July.

While mothers scaled back their work hours by about 5%, or two hours
per week, fathers' work hours remained largely stable. The impact was
greatest among mothers of primary school-aged children or younger children
for whom caregiving and homeschooling demands are most intense.

Collins and co-authors -- Liana Christin Landivar at the Maryland
Population Research Center; Leah Ruppanner at the University of Melbourne;
and William Scarborough at the University of North Texas -- used data from
the U.S. Current Population Survey to assess how dual-earner heterosexual married couples with children adjusted their work during the pandemic
from February through April.

The monthly labor statistics survey includes information from
approximately 60,000 households across the United States.



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They also examined a subset of households in which both mothers and
fathers are employed in telecommuting-capable occupations. They found
across all models, fathers' predicted work hours did not fall below 40
hours per week, indicating that while the pandemic had a major toll
on all aspects of society, most fathers in heterosexual, dual-earner
households continued to put in a full work week.

"Even among households in which both parents are able to work from home
and are directly exposed to childcare and housework demands, mothers
are scaling back to meet these responsibilities to a greater extent
than fathers. Ultimately, our analyses reveal that gender inequality in parents' work hours has worsened during the pandemic," Collins said.

The cause of this inequity is unclear. Collins said it's possible in
times of crisis families revert to more traditional gender roles in
the household division of labor. Or, it could be that financial stress
and the need to protect primary earners -- most often fathers -- caused
mothers to assume more of the unpaid domestic work.

What remains clear to the researchers, however, is that this inequity
can have long-term, disastrous effects on women's careers.

"Scaling back work is part of a downward spiral that often leads to labor
force exits -- especially in cases where employers are inflexible with schedules or penalize employees unable to meet work expectations in the
face of growing care demands," Collins and her co-authors wrote.

"We are also concerned that many employers will be looking for ways
to save money and it may be at the expense of mothers who have already
weakened their labor market attachment," they wrote.

Another potential consequence for the workplace: Future merit-based
promotions and pay raises may disproportionately benefit men whose work commitments remained high during the pandemic.

The situation is not expected to improve in the near term as states reopen
and onsite work resumes. Initially, telecommuting may have prevented
some mothers from more extensive job loss as schools and daycares closed, Collins said.

However, with summer camps closed, daycares operating at limited capacity
and uncertainty about the coming school year, dual-earner households will
be faced with tough choices on how to navigate paid work and family life.

"Flexibility is key right now," Collins said. "By easing work demands
and allowing flexibility where possible in the coming months, employers
can prevent long-term losses in women's labor force participation. And
fathers should be encouraged to provide more hours of care for their
children, even if it means sacrificing paid work hours to do so."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Washington_University_in_St._Louis. Original written by Sara Savat. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Caitlyn Collins, Liana Christin Landivar, Leah Ruppanner, William J.

Scarborough. COVID‐19 and the Gender Gap in Work
Hours. Gender, Work & Organization, 2020; DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12506 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200713104336.htm

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