Inequalities in the division of labor in families with children during COVID-19 confinement in Spain. Towards greater gender and socioeconomic polarization? .

Abstract

The confinement of the Spanish population within their households and the closure of schools and daycare centers due to the COVID-19 pandemic generated an unprecedented increase in domestic demands for families with children, as parents had to adapt to remote work or interrupt their labor market activity. Drawing on a survey carried out during the state of alarm, it is analyzed whether families where both parents maintained their jobs resorting to telework or flexibility established more co-responsible distributions of tasks than those where such circumstances where not present. Results show that such was the case, which suggests social polarization based on gender inequalities between families with and without favorable conditions
for the maintenance of an egalitarian dual-earner model. The study also reveals a larger relative workload for women during the analyzed period.