Article
Gender Differences in Couples’ Division of Childcare, Work and Mental Health During COVID-19
Review of Economics of the Household
(2021)
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.
Disciplines
Publication Date
January, 2021
Citation Information
Gema Zamarro and Maria Jose Prados. "Gender Differences in Couples’ Division of Childcare, Work and Mental Health During COVID-19" Review of Economics of the Household (2021) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/gema_zamarro/46/