Families in quarantine: COVID‐19 pandemic effects on the work and home lives of women and their daughters

Abstract

AbstractThe onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic in March 2020 disrupted the lives of millions of US families, with rising unemployment and initial lockdowns forcing nationwide school and daycare closures. These abrupt changes impacted women in particular, shifting how families navigated roles. Even pre‐pandemic, US women were responsible for the majority of household labor and childcare, and daughters bore greater chore responsibility than sons. We surveyed 280 families early in the pandemic (Spring 2020) and another 199 families more than a year later (Summer 2021) about pre‐pandemic versus current work‐family conflict (WFC), division of labor and schooling, and children's daily activities. Early on, mothers reported increased WFC (especially family impacting work), mothers assumed primary responsibility for children's education at home, and daughters spent more time doing chores and educating siblings. One year in, WFC remained high but mother's stress was lower, parents reported working less from home, and children largely returned to face‐to‐face schooling. Yet, children, especially daughters, actually spent more time caring for siblings than early in the pandemic, though less time on chores overall. We conclude that policies that support families such as paid family leave and subsidized childcare are needed to right the gender inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic.