Digital Workplace and Gender (In)equality among Working Parents in Post-COVID-19 Britain

The rapid development of information communication technologies (ICTs), such as smart devices, cloud technologies and social media, have facilitated remote working practices. However, remote working has only become established in many countries since the global outbreak of Covid19 during 2020. The aim of this study is to critically investigate how the everyday experiences of ICTs-enabled remote working inform gender (in)equality in work and social life in post-Covid19 Britain. The study recruited 20 working parents (10 females and 10 males) working within knowledge industries as research participants. Diaries, along with in-depth interview methods, were deployed to capture nuanced sentiments and practices towards work and life coordination using ICTs. The data analysis revealed four main themes that identified the similarities and differences of remote working experiences between working mothers and fathers: (1) general trend towards working remotely, (2) shifting perceptions towards work-life responsibilities (opportunity), (3) gender ideology unfolding on ICT practices (risk) and (4) the different social consequences of role conflicts between gender (risk).