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In these dark days, it feels trivial to worry about whether #COVID19 is exacerbating gender inequality among heterosexual couples. But, it’s actually not trivial at all--in fact, it’s at the core of many of the most pressing social issues. Let me explain. 1/
Equal relationships have everything to do with how people like Ruth Bader Ginsburg can come to be. 2/
https://time.com/5488428/ruth-bader-ginsburg-marriage-equals/
https://time.com/5488428/ruth-bader-ginsburg-marriage-equals/
Relationship inequality also has consequences for relationship stability & people’s health. Disproportionate burdens of family labor leaves women stressed, tired, & at risk of abusing drugs & alcohol. It also has implications for women’s poverty when relationships dissolve. 3/
Couples report greater happiness & their partnerships are more stable when their relationships are more equitable. This is especially important during a pandemic, when families have fewer formal resources to depend on & are spending more time with their partners than ever. 4/
So, how is COVID-19 impacting couples’ division of labor? Women are disproportionately losing their jobs. @IWPR reports that women account for nearly 60% of the job losses. 5/ https://iwpr.org/iwpr-issues/employment-and-earnings/holding-up-half-the-sky-mothers-as-workers-primary-caregivers-breadwinners-during-covid-19-2/
. @lclandivar, @leahruppanner, @BuddyScarboro, & @CaitlynMCollins also showed mothers are more likely than fathers to exit the labor force. 6/ …https://journals-sagepub-com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/doi/full/10.1177/2378023120947997
And, women report they are making these changes because of a need to provide childcare. The consequences to women's exit from the labor force cannot be overstated, especially in terms of closing the gender wage gap. 7/ https://www.workingmother.com/2020-cost-of-care-survey
As for domestic labor, most studies show mothers are shouldering the burden of homeschooling. But, the data is less clear about how COVID-19 is impacting divisions of routine housework and childcare. 8/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/upshot/pandemic-chores-homeschooling-gender.html
Results from a pre-COVID-19 study showed teleworking was associated with increases in dad’s childcare time but not in housework time. Thus, they speculate more telecommuting won’t help narrow the gender gap in family labor during the pandemic. 9/ https://contemporaryfamilies.org/covid-19-telecommuting-work-family-conflict-and-gender-equality/
On its face, this looks like a simple return of heterosexual couples to conventional (and unequal) home lives. But I don’t think it’s that simple. 10/
Some scholars might argue the trend in mothers opting out of the labor force will subside because couples are committed to equal relationships. There’s declining support for a conventional husband-earner, wife-homemaker arrangement. 11/ https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/trends/Gender%20&%20Marriage?measure=fefam
But, @dernberger and I showed that support for mothers’ labor force participation is not the best indicator of egalitarian values. 12/ https://sociologicalscience.com/articles-v7-2-36/
. @dernberger and I found that people continue to believe that women are more responsible for the family life--regardless of whether women are employed or not. So, why don’t I think families will use COVID-19 as a justification to embrace conventional gender behavior at home? 13/
Regardless of desired family arrangement, in my work with Jennifer Glass and @rkellyraley, we find that families NEED women’s earnings. In a working paper, we examine how substantial families’ reliance on mother’s income is today. Sneak preview: It’s a LOT! 14/
COVID-19 may be a significant, but temporary driver pushing mothers out of the labor force. But, it is likely not sustainable for most families. Also, many employed mothers are single and they do not have the luxury of choosing. 15/
To put it simply--the women out of work now probably won’t stay that way. They can’t afford it, regardless of their gendered beliefs. 16/
And, when women are working, we actually are seeing shifts in the division of labor at home. @DanielCarlson_1 son, @pettsric and I found that telecommuting dads DO spend more time on housework, IF their partners are also employed full-time. 17/ https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/jm2yu/
That being said, @DanielCarlson_1, @pettsric, and I also found mothers are disproportionately taking on the new task of homeschooling. 18/ https://contemporaryfamilies.org/covid-couples-division-of-labor/
But @DanielCarlson_1, @pettsric and I also found that mothers and fathers AGREE that dads are doing MORE family labor during the pandemic than they were before COVID-19. And this increase has led to an increase in egalitarian domestic arrangements. 19/
To put it another way, men still aren’t contributing equally, but they are contributing more than before. And importantly, prior research shows that once men become more involved in family labor, the effects are long-lasting. 20/ https://contemporaryfamilies.org/ccf-briefing-report-daddys-home/
So, if women’s job loss is awful but not permanent, & men’s increased family labor is long-lasting, there is reason to be hopeful. #COVID19 is likely both exacerbating gender inequality (women’s lifetime earnings) and mitigating it (more involved dads). 21/
Apologies for the mis-tags in my thread. @IWPResearch & @bdernberger :(
