Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
PLoS One. 2020 Nov 30;15(11):e0242249. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242249. eCollection 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a public health crisis. Lockdown measures have substantial societal effects, including a significant impact on parents with (young) children. Given the existence of persistent gender inequality prior to the pandemic, particularly among parents, it is crucial to study the societal impact of COVID-19 from a gender perspective. The objective of this paper is to use representative survey data gathered among Dutch parents in April 2020 to explore differences between mothers and fathers in three areas: paid work, the division of childcare and household tasks, and three dimensions of quality of life (leisure, work-life balance, relationship dynamics). Additionally, we explore whether changes take place in these dimensions by comparing the situation prior to the lockdown with the situation during the lockdown.
We use descriptive methods (crosstabulations) supported by multivariate modelling (linear regression modelling for continuous outcomes; linear probability modelling (LPM) for binary outcomes (0/1 outcomes); and multinomial logits for multinomial outcomes) in a cross-sectional survey design.
Results show that the way in which parents were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic reflects a complex gendered reality. Mothers work in essential occupations more often than fathers, report more adjustments of the times at which they work, and experience both more and less work pressure in comparison to before the lockdown. Moreover, mothers continue to do more childcare and household work than fathers, but some fathers report taking on greater shares of childcare and housework during the lockdown in comparison to before. Mothers also report a larger decline in leisure time than fathers. We find no gender differences in the propensity to work from home, in perceived work-life balance, or in relationship dynamics.
In conclusion, we find that gender inequality in paid work, the division of childcare and household work, and the quality of life are evident during the first lockdown period. Specifically, we find evidence of an increase in gender inequality in relation to paid work and quality of life when comparing the situation prior to and during the lockdown, as well as a decrease in gender inequality in the division of childcare and household work. We conclude that the unique situation created by restrictive lockdown measures magnifies some gender inequalities while lessening others.
The insights we provide offer key comparative evidence based on a representative, probability-based sample for understanding the broader impact of lockdown measures as we move forward in the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the limitations in this study is the cross-sectional design. Further study, in the form of a longitudinal design, will be crucial in investigating the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender inequality.
新冠疫情不仅仅是一场公共卫生危机。封锁措施对社会产生了重大影响，包括对有（年幼）子女的父母产生了重大影响。鉴于疫情前就存在持续的性别不平等，尤其是在父母中，从性别视角研究新冠疫情对社会的影响至关重要。本文的目的是利用 2020 年 4 月在荷兰父母中收集的代表性调查数据，从三个方面探讨母亲和父亲之间的差异：有薪工作、子女保育和家务分工，以及生活质量的三个维度（休闲、工作与生活平衡、关系动态）。此外，我们通过比较封锁前和封锁期间的情况，探讨这些方面是否发生了变化。
我们使用描述性方法（交叉表），并辅以多元模型（连续结果的线性回归模型；二进制结果（0/1 结果）的线性概率模型（LPM）；多类别结果的多项逻辑回归），采用横断面调查设计。
结果表明，父母受新冠疫情影响的方式反映了一种复杂的性别现实。母亲比父亲更经常从事必要职业，报告更多调整工作时间的情况，并且与封锁前相比，工作压力更大或更小。此外，母亲继续承担比父亲更多的子女保育和家务劳动，但一些父亲报告在封锁期间比封锁前承担更多的子女保育和家务劳动。母亲还报告休闲时间减少幅度大于父亲。我们没有发现在家工作的倾向、工作与生活平衡的感知或关系动态方面的性别差异。
总之，我们发现，在第一个封锁期间，有薪工作、子女保育和家务分工以及生活质量方面的性别不平等显而易见。具体而言，我们发现，在比较封锁前和封锁期间的情况时，有薪工作和生活质量方面的性别不平等有所增加，而子女保育和家务分工方面的性别不平等有所减少。我们的结论是，限制性封锁措施所造成的独特情况放大了一些性别不平等，同时减轻了其他一些不平等。
我们提供的观点为理解封锁措施的更广泛影响提供了关键的基于代表性、基于概率的样本比较证据，因为我们在新冠疫情中向前推进。本研究的一个局限性是横断面设计。进一步的研究，以纵向设计的形式，对于调查新冠疫情对性别不平等的长期影响至关重要。
