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Study: COVID-19 has exacerbated gender differences in unpaid care work
During the height of the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, women spent more time on unpaid housework and childcare than men, were more likely to reduce working hours, and reported higher levels of psychological distress, according to a new study published last week in the open-access journal
PLOS ONE by Baowen Xue and Anne McMunn of University College London, UK.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, studies had already shown that women in the UK today spend more time doing unpaid care work than men. In March 2020, childcare facilities and schools in the UK were shut down in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There has been concern that the shutdown and school closures may have exacerbated existing gender inequities in care work and psychological distress.