Work Hard Parent Hard: Gender and Work Life Conflict in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Women are leaving the workforce at historic rates due to the inability to negotiate work and household labor. Despite considerable gains in the workforce, women still account for a greater share of domestic work. To be ideal workers, women are expected to fulfill ideal worker norms of long hours and undivided dedication, in stark contrast with gender roles which dictate that ideal women should take primary care of the household. This imbalance of unpaid domestic labor stunts women’s achievement in the paid workforce. Prior research has demonstrated the tension between work and family domains and COVID-19 has exposed the ubiquity of gender roles, as women have taken on a greater share of childcare and household chores during the pandemic (Giurge et al., 2021). In this symposium, will delve into the consequences of the push and pull of work and family responsibilities, and why women are feeling especially burdened during COVD-19. Across a variety of methodology, including longitudinal, survey, interview and experimental, we unpack the experiences of women and the undercurrent of work family conflict pushing women out of the workforce. In these four talks, we study how remote work effects work life balance, how domestic arrangements effect work outcomes, how work arrangements effect domestic arrangements, and a precursor and consequences of the conflict between the two realms. By examining the link between personal and professional lives, we demonstrate the interconnectedness of these two domains, with specific focus on the pressure women face from both, and how it may be alleviated. A Blessing or a Curse? The Benefits and Challenges of Remote Work for Working Mothers Presenter: Aurora Turek; Harvard Business School Presenter: Salvatore J. Affinito; Harvard Business School Presenter: Ashley Whillans; Harvard Business School Presenter: Leslie Perlow; Harvard Business School The Shared Parenting Premium: Caregiving, Chores, and Earnings Presenter: Stephanie Chan-Ahuja; London Business School Presenter: Eliot Sherman; London Business School New Employment Arrangements: Changes at Work and at Home Presenter: Alexandra Feldberg; Harvard Business School Presenter: Kathleen L. McGinn; Harvard U. Holding the Belief that Gender Roles Can Change Reduces Women’s Work-Family Conflict During COVID Presenter: Charlotte Townsend; Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley Presenter: Laura Kray; U. of California, Berkeley