Working mothers risk losing their jobs due to pandemic

When, due to the quarantine, many adults switched to remote work and children to distance learning, some experts suggested that this situation would equalize gender inequality, as men’s contribution to household chores would increase. However, four months later, a new study conducted at Washington University in St. Louis, USA, found that the pandemic had made the situation worse rather than better.^[1]

Overall, between March and April, mothers’ work hours decreased four to five times as much as fathers’. And even in families where both parents were able to continue to work from home, mothers sacrificed work for household chores to a greater extent than fathers. On average, women working remotely reduced their working hours by about 5%, while men’s working hours remained stable at at least 40 hours per week. Mothers of pre-school and primary school-aged children, whose care and learning needs are particularly high, were the most affected.

This inequality can also have long-term consequences for women’s careers. Reduced hours of work are part of a downward spiral that often leads to the withdrawal of labor from the labor market. For example, employers with inflexible schedules often penalize employees who are late for work or frequently take time off due to family circumstances. And employers who want to downsize are likely to do so precisely at the expense of mothers who have already loosened their grip on the labor market. Women who are forced to reduce their working hours are unlikely to expect promotion and salary increases in the near future. These preferences will go to men whose work commitments were strictly adhered to during the pandemic.

The authors of the study believe that this situation will not change for the better in the near future. Restrictions on summer camps, kindergartens and uncertainty about the upcoming school year will prevent women from organizing their work. They call on employers to be more flexible in the coming months in their treatment of both female and male employees. They also believe that fathers should be encouraged to spend more time caring for their children, even if it costs them a few hours of work time.

Shutterstock/FOTODOM UKRAINE photos were used

1. 1. Caitlyn Collins, Liana Christin Landivar, Leah Ruppanner, William J. Scarborough. COVID‐19 and the Gender Gap in Work Hours. Gender, Work & Organization, 2020; DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12506