Downloads
This paper provides novel empirical evidence on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the division of labour among parents of school-aged children in two-parent opposite-gender families. In line with existing evidence, we find that mothers' paid work took a larger hit than that of fathers, and that mothers spent substantially longer doing childcare and housework than their partners. We go further to show that these gender differences cannot be explained by gender differences in the industries and occupations in which parents worked prior to the lockdown. Nor can they be explained by gender differences in earnings prior to the crisis: independently of which parent earned the most before the pandemic, it is always mothers who adjusted time spent on paid and unpaid work more significantly. This is the case even in households where only one partner remained active in paid work. While we cannot fully rule out that these asymmetric responses are explained by gender differences in productivity in domestic work, our results do suggest that other factors, such as gender norms, may play an important role.
Authors
Deputy Research Director
Monica is a Deputy Research Director and Professor of Economics at the University of Bristol, with an interest in Labour, Family and Public Economics.
Associate Director
Sarah is an Associate Director in the Education and Skills sector at the IFS, holding a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Research Fellow
Alison is a Senior Research Economist of our Institute with research interests in the economics of gender, marriage and education.
Deputy Research Director
Sonya Krutikova is an Associate Professor of Economics at Manchester University and IFS Deputy Research Director.
Associate Director
Christine's research examines inequalities in children's education and health, especially in the early education and childcare sector.
Angus Phimister
Lucy Kraftman
Almudena Sevilla
Working Paper details
- DOI
- 10.1920/wp.ifs.2021.1721
- Publisher
- Institute for Fiscal Studies
Suggested citation
Andrew, A et al. (2021). The gendered division of paid and domestic work under lockdown. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/gendered-division-paid-and-domestic-work-under-lockdown (accessed: 3 May 2024).
More from IFS
Understand this issue
Sure Start achieved its aims, then we threw it away
15 April 2024
If you can’t see it, you can’t be it: role models influence female junior doctors’ choice of medical specialty
24 April 2024
A mess has been made of Child Benefit, and the clear-up operation may not be easy
29 March 2024
Policy analysis
What you need to know about the new childcare entitlements
28 March 2024
The short- and medium-term impacts of Sure Start on educational outcomes
9 April 2024
Sure Start greatly improved disadvantaged children’s GCSE results
9 April 2024
Academic research
Imagine your life at 25: Gender conformity and later-life outcomes
24 April 2024
Labour market inequality and the changing life cycle profile of male and female wages
15 April 2024
A senior doctor like me: Gender match and occupational choice
24 April 2024