Changes in the division of labor in the home among working fathers and mothers in the first wave of COVID-19

• Main Authors: Eydal, Guðný Björk, Gíslason, Ingólfur V., Bjarnason, Tómas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: School of Social Sciences 2023
• Subjects: COVID-19; samþætting launavinnu og umönnunarábyrgðar; umönnun; heimilisstörf; fjarvinna; reconciliation between paid work and care; care work; domestic work; remote work; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/tf/article/view/3870

COVID-19 brought with it extensive changes in people’s lives. The pandemic disrupted employment and home life, with the clo[1]sure of workplaces, increased remote work, and reduced services of care givers. At the initiative of Utrecht University, a multinational study entitled “Gender (In) equality in Times of COVID-19” was launched. Data were collected via a questionnaire on the effect of the pandemic on the status of parents in paid work, division of household work, care, and the reconciliation between paid work and care. The survey was conducted in Iceland by Gallup after restrictions on gatherings were lifted following the first wave in May 2020. This article examines the impact of the pandemic on gendered division of working parents with spouses regarding care and housework and reconciliation between paid work and care. In the light of previous research, the impact of the pandemic on these factors is examined depending on where work was performed, whether work was performed remotely from home or in the workplace. The main results show small gender difference in changes in where work was performed (working remotely or at the workplace). Large, gendered differences were, on the other hand, found in care work and housework, both before and after the pandemic. In accordance with recent international research on COVID-19, results suggest that with regards to housework parents became more equal after the pandemic: Fathers who worked from home, but their spouses at the workplace, increased their share of domestic work, while mothers who worked at the workplace, but their spouses worked from home, reduced their share of domestic responsibilities. Similar changes in the division of care between parents were not found. Reconciliation between paid work and care deteriorated with the pandemic, more so among parents of young children and parents who worked at home. Regression analysis shows that reconciliation of paid work and care deteriorated especially among mothers who worked remotely from home. This is in ...