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Working from home and Covid-19: The chances and risks for gender gaps

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  • Arntz, Melanie
  • Ben Yahmed, Sarra
  • Berlingieri, Francesco

Abstract

As the Covid-19 pandemic causes an all-time high share of people to work from home, this disruptive event is likely to have a long-lasting effect on work arrangements. Given existing research on the effects of working from home (WfH) on hours worked and wages, an increased availability of WfH may provide a chance for women to catch up with their male counterparts. Yet, the need to simultaneously care for children during the Covid-19 lockdown may also revive traditional gender roles, potentially counteracting such gains. This expert brief discusses the likely effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on gender gaps in light of recent empirical findings and novel statistics on the heterogeneous structure of work arrangements among couples.

Suggested Citation

  • Arntz, Melanie & Ben Yahmed, Sarra & Berlingieri, Francesco, 2020. "Working from home and Covid-19: The chances and risks for gender gaps," ZEW Expert Briefs 20-09, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewexb:2009
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    Cited by:

    1. Mathieu P.A. Steijn, 2024. "The persistence and nature of the labor reallocation shock during the COVID-19 crisis," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 24-047/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    2. Christina Boll & Simone Schüller, 2020. "The Situation is Serious, but Not Hopeless - Evidence-Based Considerations on the Intra-Couple Division of Childcare before, during and after the Covid-19 Lockdown," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1098, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    3. Christina Boll & Dana Müller & Simone Schüller, 2023. "Neither backlash nor convergence: dynamics of intra-couple childcare division during the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Wu, Hongyue & Chang, Yuan & Chen, Yunfeng, 2024. "Greenhouse gas emissions under work from home vs. office: An activity-based individual-level accounting model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PB).
    5. Christina Boll & Dana Müller & Simone Schüller, 2021. "Neither Backlash nor Convergence: Dynamics of Intracouple Childcare Division after the First Covid-19 Lockdown and Subsequent Reopening in Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 9091, CESifo.
    6. Marks-Bielska, Renata & Bórawski, Piotr 1 & Sierzputowska, Anna, 2023. "Światowa Pandemia Covid-19 A Rynek Pracy W Polsce," Roczniki (Annals), Polish Association of Agricultural Economists and Agribusiness - Stowarzyszenie Ekonomistow Rolnictwa e Agrobiznesu (SERiA), vol. 2023(3).
    7. Ben Yahmed, Sarra & Cappellari, Lorenzo & Checchi, Daniele & Corak, Miles & Jenkins, Stephen P. & Neidhöfer, Guido & Tertilt, Michele & Tommasi, Mariano, 2020. "COVID-19 and inequality," ZEW policy briefs 5/2020, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    8. Ştefan-Alexandru Catană & Sorin-George Toma & Andreea Barbu, 2021. "The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Teleworking and Education in a Romanian Higher Education Institution: An Internal Stakeholders Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-17, August.
    9. Carlo Drago & Luisa Errichiello, 2024. "Remote Work admist the Covid-19 outbreak: Insights from an Ensemble Community-Based Keyword Network Analysis," Working Papers 2024.05, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    10. Corsi, Marcella & Ilkkaracan, Ipek, 2022. "COVID-19, Gender and Labour," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1012, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Ourania Tzoraki & Svetlana Dimitrova & Marin Barzakov & Saad Yaseen & Vasilis Gavalas & Hani Harb & Abas Haidari & Brian P. Cahill & Alexandra Ćulibrk & Ekaterini Nikolarea & Eleni Andrianopulu & Miro, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Working Conditions, Employment, Career Development and Well-Being of Refugee Researchers," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-13, July.
    12. Grażyna Bartkowiak & Agnieszka Krugiełka & Sebastian Dama & Paulina Kostrzewa-Demczuk & Elżbieta Gaweł-Luty, 2022. "Academic Teachers about Their Productivity and a Sense of Well-Being in the Current COVID-19 Epidemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-18, April.
    13. Paweł Ziemba & Mateusz Piwowarski & Kesra Nermend, 2023. "Remote Work in Post-Pandemic Reality—Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Teleconferencing Software," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, June.
    14. Bellmann, Lutz & Hübler, Olaf, 2020. "Job Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance: Differences between Homework and Work at the Workplace of the Company," IZA Discussion Papers 13504, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Coskun, Sena & Dauth, Wolfgang & Gartner, Hermann & Stops, Michael & Weber, Enzo, 2024. "Working from Home Increases Work-Home Distances," CEPR Discussion Papers 18914, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Emanuela Ingusci & Fulvio Signore & Claudio Giovanni Cortese & Monica Molino & Paola Pasca & Enrico Ciavolino, 2023. "Development and validation of the Remote Working Benefits & Disadvantages scale," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1159-1183, April.
    17. Nilmini M. Rathnayake & Pivithuru J. Kumarasinghe & Ajantha S. Kumara, 2022. "How Do Different Types of University Academics Perceive Work from Home Amidst COVID-19 and Beyond?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.
    18. Alexander Bick & Adam Blandin & Aidan Caplan & Tristan Caplan, 2024. "Measuring Trends in Work From Home: Evidence from Six U.S. Datasets," Working Papers 2024-023, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    19. Mung Khie Tsen & Manli Gu & Chee Meng Tan & See Kwong Goh, 2023. "Homeworking and Employee Job Stress and Work Engagement: A Multilevel Analysis from 34 European Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 511-538, August.
    20. Christina Boll & Simone Schüller, 2020. "Die Lage ist ernst, aber nicht hoffnungslos – empirisch gestützte Überlegungen zur elterlichen Aufteilung der Kinderbetreuung vor, während und nach dem COVID-19 Lockdown," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1089, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    21. Martin Abraham & Natascha Nisic & Miriam Trübner & Hanna Walch & Anja Wunder, 2024. "The role of generalized trust and control in the employment of domestic help – An experimental case study for Germany and the UK," Rationality and Society, , vol. 36(2), pages 230-253, May.
    22. Anika Intesar, 2021. "An Untold Pandemic: Triple Burden of Working Women during COVID-19 Pandemic in Dhaka, Bangladesh," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 5(5), pages 510-518, May.
    23. Eva Bezak & Kristin V. Carson-Chahhoud & Loredana G. Marcu & Magdalena Stoeva & Lenka Lhotska & Gilda A. Barabino & Fatimah Ibrahim & Eleni Kaldoudi & Sierin Lim & Ana Maria Marques da Silva & Peck Ha, 2022. "The Biggest Challenges Resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gender-Related Work from Home in Biomedical Fields—World-Wide Qualitative Survey Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-16, March.
    24. Jean-Victor Alipour & Oliver Falck & Alexandra Mergener & Simone Schüller, 2020. "Wiring the Labor Market Revisited: Working from Home in the Digital Age," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 21(03), pages 10-14, September.

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