Gender differences in couples’ division of childcare, work and mental health during COVID-19

Gema Zamarro and María José Prados

Review of Economics of the Household, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, No 2, 40 pages

Abstract: Abstract The current COVID-19 crisis, with its associated school and daycare closures as well as social-distancing requirements, has the potential to magnify gender differences both in terms of childcare arrangements within the household and at work. We use data from a nationally representative sample of the United States from the Understanding Coronavirus in America tracking survey to understand gender differences within households on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. We study how fathers and mothers are coping with this crisis in terms of childcare provision, employment, working arrangements, and psychological distress levels. We find that women have carried a heavier load than men in the provision of childcare during the COVID-19 crisis, even while still working. Mothers’ current working situations appear to have a limited influence on their provision of childcare. This division of childcare is, however, associated with a reduction in working hours and an increased probability of transitioning out of employment for working mothers. Finally, we observe a small but new gap in psychological distress that emerged between mothers and women without school-age children in the household in early April. This new gap appears to be driven by higher levels of psychological distress reported by mothers of elementary school-age and younger children.

Keywords: Gender; Childcare; Labor participation; Working hours; Mental health; COVID-19; J13; J21; I1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (117)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11150-020-09534-7

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