According to a study carried out by the University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University, women have continued to be responsible for most of the care and household chores during the confinement period. The data also indicate a slight increase in men’s participation in domestic work, especially with regard to shopping.
The study was developed by Libertad González, professor of the Department of Economics and Business at UPF and Barcelona GSE, member of the Center for Gender Studies (CEDG) of the University, and Lidia Farré, professor of the Department of ‘Econometrics, Statistics and Applied Economics, University of Barcelona. “We suspected that this crisis, despite having a health nature, would have a significant economic impact and increase inequality between social groups. And one of those groups is men and women. Traditionally, there are social norms that attribute the role of caregivers to women and this crisis, with the closure of schools, has led to a disproportionate and unprecedented increase in household chores and childcare. We suspected that this would fall on women “, says Farré.
The closure of schools and the reduction of the ability to outsource home cleaning and food preparation has become a challenge in the organization of family logistics and the distribution of tasks. The study, carried out in Spain between 4 and 30 April 2020 with a sample of 7,091 people, divides household chores into five groups: household cleaning, shopping, clothes, food and childcare (both in terms of leisure and education) and analyzes whether the responsibility lies with the man, the woman, or both equally. The results show that men have slightly increased their participation in all household chores. Before confinement, man took care of 36% of household chores, and less than 10% did half of it. With confinement, the man has gone on to do an average of 40% of the tasks, and 25% do at least half of the tasks. However, the distribution remains uneven and falls mostly on women.
There is only one exception: make the purchase. In this case, the man has become responsible, almost 10 points above the woman. If before confinement was responsible for the purchase by 20%, with the new situation this percentage almost doubles, and happens to do so in about 38%, while the woman goes from 38% to 28%. “Going shopping or leaving home during the pandemic could be considered a risky activity. And the literature shows us that men have a greater preference for risk. Based on economic theory it could be said that men and women have different preferences for the risk they want to take. There are other less economic theories that suggest that men have exercised their power in an activity that in this context could lead to liberation. It is also a task that requires less investment in human capital because it is easy to perform. We were just asking who was going to buy but not who was making the list and planning what to buy, ”adds researcher Lídia Farré.
There has also been an increase in human responsibility for caring for children in terms of leisure, which is shared equally. Farré is optimistic about the possibility of confinement opening a gap in a more balanced division of tasks between men and women. “These forced situations where the man has had to take on the role of primary caregiver may involve changes in gender roles within some families. It may be that in the future we see that this crisis has had an impact on the distribution of household chores, ”he explains. “We have also studied the effects of paternity leave and have observed that those parents who enjoyed their leave in Spain have increased their participation in childcare tasks. There is a learning process that makes them more involved later. “