IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/108463.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Work, care and gender during the Covid-19 crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Petrongolo, Barbara
  • Hupkau, Claudia

Abstract

We explore impacts of the pandemic crisis and associated restrictions to economic activity on paid and unpaid work for men and women in the UK. Using data from the Covid-19 supplement of Understanding Society, we find evidence that labour market outcomes of men and women were roughly equally affected at the extensive margin, as measured by the incidence of job loss or furloughing, but if anything women suffered smaller losses at the intensive margin, experiencing slightly smaller changes in hours and earnings. Within the household, women provided on average a larger share of increased childcare needs, but in an important share of households fathers became the primary childcare providers. These distributional consequences of the pandemic may be important to understand its inequality legacy over the longer term.

Suggested Citation

  • Petrongolo, Barbara & Hupkau, Claudia, 2020. "Work, care and gender during the Covid-19 crisis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108463, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:108463
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/108463/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lidia Farré & Yarine Fawaz & Libertad González Luna & Jennifer Graves, 2020. "How the covid-19 lockdown affected gender Inequality in paid and unpaid work in Spain," Economics Working Papers 1728, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    2. Ankita Patnaik, 2019. "Reserving Time for Daddy: The Consequences of Fathers’ Quotas," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(4), pages 1009-1059.
    3. Alexandre Mas & Amanda Pallais, 2017. "Valuing Alternative Work Arrangements," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(12), pages 3722-3759, December.
    4. Farré, Lídia & González, Libertad, 2019. "Does paternity leave reduce fertility?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 52-66.
    5. Alison Andrew & Sarah Cattan & Monica Costa Dias & Christine Farquharson & Lucy Kraftman & Sonya Krutikova & Angus Phimister & Almudena Sevilla, 2022. "The gendered division of paid and domestic work under lockdown," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(4), pages 325-340, December.
    6. Almudena Sevilla & Sarah Smith, 2020. "Baby steps: the gender division of childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 169-186.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mariana Viollaz & Mauricio Salazar-Saenz & Luca Flabbim & Monserrat Bustelo & Mariano Bosch, 2022. "The COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin American and Caribbean countries: The Labor Supply Impact by Gender," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0296, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    2. Fiaschi, Davide & Tealdi, Cristina, 2023. "The attachment of adult women to the Italian labour market in the shadow of COVID-19," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Anna Barbuscia & Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz, 2023. "Do Income and Employment Uncertainty Affect Couple Stability? Evidence for France During the COVID-19 Pandemic," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-35, December.
    4. Deole, Sumit S. & Deter, Max & Huang, Yue, 2023. "Home sweet home: Working from home and employee performance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Giulia Bettin & Isabella Giorgetti & Stefano Staffolani, 2024. "The impact of Covid-19 lockdown on the gender gap in the Italian labour market," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-33, March.
    6. Marie Blaise & Sandrine Juin & Hélène Le Forner & Quitterie Roquebert, 2024. "I care, you clean? Gendered effects of informal care on couple housework and leisure time," LISER Working Paper Series 2024-05, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    7. Eggers, Thurid & Grages, Christopher & Pfau-Effinger, Birgit, 2024. "Informalizing childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic: Policy responses to childcare and their implications for working parents in Denmark, England and Germany," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    8. Amaral, Sofia & Dinarte-Diaz, Lelys & Dominguez, Patricio & Perez-Vincent, Santiago M., 2024. "Helping families help themselves: The (Un)intended impacts of a digital parenting program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    9. Boring, Anne & Moroni, Gloria, 2023. "Turning back the clock: Beliefs about gender roles during lockdown," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    10. Anne LAMBERT & Delphine REMILLON & Mariona SEGÚ, 2023. "Getting out or switching to part‐time: Gender disparities in the impacts of corporate restructuring," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(4), pages 537-560, December.
    11. Livia Alfonsi & Mary Namubiru & Sara Spaziani, 2024. "Gender gaps: back and here to stay? Evidence from skilled Ugandan workers during COVID-19," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 999-1046, September.
    12. Maite BLÁZQUEZ & Ainhoa HERRARTE & Ana I. MORO-EGIDO, 2024. "Has the COVID-19 pandemic widened the gender gap in paid work hours in Spain?," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 90(2), pages 313-348, June.
    13. Elisa Brini & Stefani Scherer & Agnese Vitali, 2024. "Gender and Beyond: Employment Patterns during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(3), pages 1-23, June.
    14. Kugler, Maurice & Viollaz, Mariana & Duque, Daniel & Gaddis, Isis & Newhouse, David & Palacios-Lopez, Amparo & Weber, Michael, 2023. "How did the COVID-19 crisis affect different types of workers in the developing world?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    15. Saudi‐Yulieth Enciso‐Alfaro & Salma Marhroub & Pedro‐José Martínez‐Córdoba & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2024. "The effect of COVID‐19 on employment: A bibliometric review of a she‐cession," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3444-3467, July.
    16. Myriam Chatot & Julie Landour & Ariane Pailhé & for the EpiCOV team, 2023. "Socioeconomic differences and the gender division of labor during the COVID‐19 lockdown: Insights from France using a mixed method," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1296-1316, July.
    17. Esposito, Piero & Mendolia, Silvia & Scicchitano, Sergio & Tealdi, Cristina, 2024. "Working from Home and Job Satisfaction: The Role of Gender and Personality Traits," IZA Discussion Papers 16751, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Hupkau, Claudia & Ruiz-Valenzuela, Jenifer & Isphording, Ingo E. & Machin, Stephen, 2023. "Labour Market Shocks and Parental Investments during the Covid-19 Pandemic," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    19. Jinho Kim & Sujeong Park & S. V. Subramanian & Taehoon Kim, 2023. "The Psychological Costs of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Heterogeneous Effects in South Korea: Evidence from a Difference-in-Differences Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 455-476, February.
    20. Bluedorn, John & Caselli, Francesca & Hansen, Niels-Jakob & Shibata, Ippei & Tavares, Marina M., 2023. "Gender and employment in the COVID-19 recession: Cross-Country evidence on “She-Cessions”," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    21. Fukai, Taiyo & Ikeda, Masato & Kawaguchi, Daiji & Yamaguchi, Shintaro, 2023. "COVID-19 and the employment gender gap in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    22. Nikolay Angelov & Daniel Waldenström, 2023. "The Economic Effects of Covid-19 in Sweden: A Report on Income, Taxes, Distribution, and Government Support Policies," CESifo Working Paper Series 10547, CESifo.
    23. Elsner, Benjamin & Jindal, Manvi & Mascherini, Massimiliano & Nivakoski, Sanna, 2024. "Gender Gaps in Time Use: Pan-European Evidence from School Closures during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IZA Discussion Papers 17151, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    24. Lafuente, Cristina & Ruland, Astrid & Santaeulàlia-Llopis, Raül & Visschers, Ludo, 2023. "The effects of Covid-19 on couples’ job tenures: Mothers have it worse," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    25. Cezar Santos & Michèle Tertilt, 2023. "How Families Matter for Understanding Economic Inequality," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_456, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Claudia Hupkau & Barbara Petrongolo, 2020. "Work, Care and Gender during the COVID‐19 Crisis," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(3), pages 623-651, September.
    2. Alison Andrew & Sarah Cattan & Monica Costa Dias & Christine Farquharson & Lucy Kraftman & Sonya Krutikova & Angus Phimister & Almudena Sevilla, 2022. "The gendered division of paid and domestic work under lockdown," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(4), pages 325-340, December.
    3. von Gaudecker, Hans-Martin & Holler, Radost & Simon, Lenard & Zimpelmann, Christian, 2023. "How has the increase in work from home impacted the parental division of labor?," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277603, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Blázquez, Maite & Herrarte, Ainhoa & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2024. "Has the COVID-19 pandemic widened the gender gap in paid work hours in Spain?," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 90(2), pages 313-348, June.
    5. Chihiro Inoue & Yusuke Ishihata & Shintaro Yamaguchi, 2024. "Working from home leads to more family-oriented men," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 783-829, June.
    6. Stefanie Stantcheva, 2022. "Inequalities in the times of a pandemic," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 37(109), pages 5-41.
    7. Zoch, Gundula & Bächmann, Ann-Christin & Vicari, Basha, 2020. "Care-Arrangements and Parental Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany," IAB-Discussion Paper 202035, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    8. Marta Pasqualini & Marta Dominguez Folgueras & Emanuele Ferragina & Olivier Godechot & Ettore Recchi & Mirna Safi, 2022. "Who took care of what? The gender division of unpaid work during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in France," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(34), pages 1007-1036.
    9. Corsi, Marcella & Ilkkaracan, Ipek, 2022. "COVID-19, Gender and Labour," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1012, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    10. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Marcén, Miriam & Morales, Marina & Sevilla, Almudena, 2020. "COVID-19 School Closures and Parental Labor Supply in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 13827, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Deole, Sumit S. & Deter, Max & Huang, Yue, 2023. "Home sweet home: Working from home and employee performance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    12. Mangiavacchi, Lucia & Piccoli, Luca & Pieroni, Luca, 2021. "Fathers matter: Intrahousehold responsibilities and children's wellbeing during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    13. Lafuente, Cristina & Ruland, Astrid & Santaeulàlia-Llopis, Raül & Visschers, Ludo, 2023. "The effects of Covid-19 on couples’ job tenures: Mothers have it worse," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    14. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Marcén, Miriam & Morales, Marina & Sevilla, Almudena, 2023. "Schooling and parental labor supply: evidence from COVID-19 school closures in the United States," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122402, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Claudia Andrade & Martie Gillen & José Alberto Molina & Melissa J. Wilmarth, 2022. "The Social and Economic Impact of Covid-19 on Family Functioning and Well-Being: Where do we go from here?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 205-212, June.
    16. Ziegler, Lennart & Bamieh, Omar, 2023. "What Drives Paternity Leave: Financial Incentives or Flexibility?," IZA Discussion Papers 15890, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Panayiota Lyssiotou & Ruzica Savcic, 2022. "Parents' Time Allocation in Different Phases of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the UK and Implications for Gender Equality," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 03-2022, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    18. Alfonsi, Livia & Namubiru, Mary & Spaziani, Sara, 2022. "Gender Gaps: Back and Here to Stay? Evidence from Skilled Ugandan Workers during COVID-19," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt44s4b2dk, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    19. Rosa Abraham & Amit Basole & Surbhi Kesar, 2022. "Down and out? The gendered impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on India’s labour market," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(1), pages 101-128, April.
    20. Abi Adams‐Prassl & Teodora Boneva & Marta Golin & Christopher Rauh, 2020. "Furloughing," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(3), pages 591-622, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    coronavirus; Covid-19; gender gaps; home production;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:108463. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.