COVID-19 and the gender gap in work hours

Caitlyn Collins; Liana Christin Landivar; Leah Ruppanner; William J Scarborough

doi:10.1111/gwao.12506

COVID-19 and the gender gap in work hours

Gend Work Organ. 2021 Jan;28(Suppl 1):101-112. doi: 10.1111/gwao.12506. Epub 2020 Aug 4.

Authors

Caitlyn Collins¹, Liana Christin Landivar², Leah Ruppanner³, William J Scarborough⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sociology Washington University in St Louis.
² Maryland Population Research Center University of Maryland, College Park.
³ Department of Sociology University of Melbourne.
⁴ Department of Sociology University of North Texas.

Abstract

School and day care closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have increased caregiving responsibilities for working parents. As a result, many have changed their work hours to meet these growing demands. In this study, we use panel data from the US Current Population Survey to examine changes in mothers' and fathers' work hours from February through April 2020, the period of time prior to the widespread COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and through its first peak. Using person-level fixed effects models, we find that mothers with young children have reduced their work hours four to five times more than fathers. Consequently, the gender gap in work hours has grown by 20-50 per cent. These findings indicate yet another negative consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the challenges it poses to women's work hours and employment.

Keywords: COVID‐19; family; gender; motherhood; work.