Changes in Parents’ Domestic Labor During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Stay-at-home orders and the removal of care and domestic supports brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic substantially disrupted parents’ work and family lives. This study leverages this exogenous event to test key theoretical explanations of couples’ divisions of domestic labor. Using novel data from 1,025 partnered, different-sex US parents, our analysis shows an overall increase in domestic responsibilities for mothers, who were already doing most of the household labor, as well as an increase in fathers’ contributions. Driven by increases in fathers’ time spent on housework and childcare, we find that both mothers and fathers report a general shift toward more egalitarian divisions of household labor. Consistent with a time availability perspective, the findings indicate the relevance of increased time at home —due to unemployment, reduced work hours, and telecommuting— as a fundamental factor underlying change in parents’ division of domestic responsibilities.