Working mothers' dilemma during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from China

Dandan Zhang, Yaxuan Liu and Yiling Zhao

China Economic Review, 2024, vol. 84, issue C

Abstract: There is increasing evidence from developed countries showing that the COVID-19 recession disproportionately impacted the female labor force, causing a “She-cession”. This paper investigates the magnitude of the “She-cession” in China. Using a unique three-wave employee tracking survey of China in 2020, we portrayed the temporal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working women during and post the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Our results show a widening gender gap in unemployment, hours worked, and monthly salary throughout 2020. Marital status and children exacerbated the gender gaps; as expected, working mothers with a child aged 0–6 experienced the most adverse labor market outcomes. Moreover, working mothers with a child aged 0–6 displayed the worst mental health status compared to other groups throughout 2020.

Keywords: Gender disparities; COVID-19; Labor market; Mental health; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 J13 J20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chieco:v:84:y:2024:i:c:s1043951x2400021x

DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2024.102132

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