The impact of COVID-19 on the gender division of housework and childcare: Evidence from two waves of the pandemic in Italy

Daniela del Boca; Noemi Oggero; Paola Profeta; Maria Cristina Rossi

doi:10.2478/izajole-2022-0003

Figures & Tables

Working arrangements during the first and second waves of COVID-19.Notes: Percentage of working women and their partners by working arrangement in April and November 2020.

Hours of housework, childcare, and devoted to children's distance learning before the emergency, during the first and second waves of COVID-19.Notes: The sample in the first panel is made up of women cohabiting with a partner. The sample in the second and third panels is made up of women with children cohabiting with a partner.

Multivariate regression model of gender gaps in the daily hours of housework, childcare, and children's distance learning during the second wave of COVID-19

	(1)	(2)	(3)

	Gap in hours of housework	Gap in hours of childcare	Gap in hours of children's distance learning
Women's age	0.031^*** (0.010)	−0.077^*** (0.024)	−0.011 (0.009)
Women having a degree	−0.084 (0.186)	0.108 (0.426)	−0.099 (0.165)
Women having children	0.271 (0.186)
Center	−0.174 (0.235)	0.236 (0.546)	−0.055 (0.211)
South	0.605^*** (0.212)	0.018 (0.483)	0.232 (0.187)
Women working from home	0.433^* (0.227)	1.164^** (0.523)	0.199 (0.202)
Women not working	0.111 (0.252)	3.736^*** (0.595)	0.466^** (0.231)
Partner working from home	−0.409 (0.265)	−0.577 (0.619)	−0.050 (0.240)
Partner not working	−0.657^** (0.255)	−2.175^*** (0.595)	−0.221 (0.230)
Constant	−0.430 (0.477)	4.945^*** (1.161)	1.037^** (0.450)

Observations	504	332	332
R-squared	0.063	0.169	0.026

Multivariate regression model of hours spent on childcare by women and their partners during the first and second waves of COVID-19

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)

	Hours spent on childcare by women during the lockdown	Hours spent on childcare by partners during the lockdown	Hours spent on childcare by women during the second wave of COVID-19	Hours spent on childcare by partners during the second wave of COVID-19
Women's age	−0.033 (0.053)	−0.069 (0.052)	−0.093^** (0.040)	−0.083^** (0.033)
Women having a degree	0.443 (0.728)	0.037 (0.721)	0.621 (0.549)	0.473 (0.451)
Having children aged 0–5 years	4.041^*** (0.933)	2.648^*** (0.924)	3.784^*** (0.700)	1.611^*** (0.575)
Having children aged 6–10 years	2.165^*** (0.806)	0.978 (0.799)	−0.114 (0.604)	−0.116 (0.496)
Centre	−1.366 (0.928)	−1.810^* (0.919)	−0.155 (0.698)	−0.455 (0.574)
South	1.431^* (0.819)	0.583 (0.811)	0.720 (0.622)	0.847^* (0.511)
Women's hours of paid work	−0.012 (0.026)	−0.013 (0.025)	−0.019 (0.025)	0.020 (0.020)
Women working from home	0.590 (0.945)	−0.058 (0.936)	1.444^** (0.676)	0.482 (0.556)
Women not working	2.635^** (1.045)	0.218 (1.036)	3.079^*** (1.075)	0.713 (0.884)
Partner working from home	0.802 (0.935)	1.291 (0.927)	0.469 (0.793)	1.192^* (0.651)
Partner not working	0.856 (0.830)	1.512^* (0.823)	−0.397 (0.761)	1.640^*** (0.626)
Constant	3.641 (2.927)	5.548^* (2.901)	7.149^*** (2.149)	4.660^*** (1.766)

Observations	273	273	332	332
R-squared	0.222	0.126	0.285	0.147

Hours of housework and childcare during the first and second waves of COVID-19

	Partners working at the usual workplace	Partners working from home	Partners not working
Panel (A) Men and women's hours of housework during the first wave of COVID-19 by working arrangement^a

Women working at the usual workplace	Women 3.14	Women 2.47	Women 2.30
	Partners 2.19	Partners 2	Partners 1.33
	Difference 0.95^***	Difference 0.47	Difference 0.96^***
	N = 42	N = 15	N = 27
Women working from home	Women 2.52	Women 3.03	Women 2.96
	Partners 1.26	Partners 1.57	Partners 1.57
	Difference 1.26^***	Difference 1.46^***	Difference 1.38^***
	N = 50	N = 87	N = 47
Women not working	Women 4.03	Women 2.38	Women 3.30
	Partners 1.46	Partners 1.38	Partners 1.54
	Difference 2.57^***	Difference 1	Difference 1.75^***
	N = 35	N = 21	N = 81

Panel (B) Men and women's hours of housework during the second wave of COVID-19 by working arrangement^b

Women working at the usual workplace	Women 2.31	Women 2.92	Women 2.35
	Partners 1.17	Partners 1.40	Partners 1.52
	Difference 1.14^***	Difference 1.52^***	Difference 0.84^**
	N = 241	N = 25	N = 31
Women working from home	Women 2.56	Women 2.82	Women 1.91
	Partners 0.75	Partners 1.43	Partners 1.30
	Difference 1.81^***	Difference 1.39^***	Difference 0.61^**
	N = 57	N = 44	N = 23
Women not working	Women 2.53	Women 1	Women 2.68
	Partners 1.04	Partners 3.37	Partners 1.43
	Difference 1.49^***	Difference −2.37	Difference 1.25^***
	N = 47	N = 8	N = 28

Panel (C) Men and women's hours of childcare during the first wave of COVID-19 by working arrangement^c

Women working at the usual workplace	Women 4.34	Women 2.5	Women 3.38
	Partners 3.91	Partners 2.25	Partners 2.67
	Difference 0.44	Difference 0.25	Difference 0.71^*
	N = 32	N = 8	N = 21
Women working from home	Women 2.87	Women 5.91	Women 6.87
	Partners 1.72	Partners 4.40	Partners 5.27
	Difference 1.16^**	Difference 1.51^*	Difference 1.6^***
	N = 32	N = 57	N = 30
Women not working	Women 8.23	Women 10.92	Women 6.65
	Partners 3.46	Partners 7.15	Partners 4.74
	Difference 4.77^***	Difference 3.77^**	Difference 1.91^***
	N = 26	N = 13	N = 54

Panel (D) Men and women's hours of childcare during the second wave of COVID-19 by working arrangement^d

Women working at the usual workplace	Women 3.59	Women 4.56	Women 3,.3
	Partners 2.18	Partners 3.44	Partners 3,.4
	Difference 1.41^***	Difference 1.12^**	Difference −0.1
	N = 162	N = 16	N = 20
Women working from home	Women 5.85	Women 5.86	Women 5
	Partners 2.92	Partners 4.03	Partners 4.46
	Difference 2.92^***	Difference 1.83^***	Difference 0.54
	N = 39	N = 29	N = 13
Women not working	Women 8.90	Women 13.2	Women 5.58
	Partners 2.86	Partners 6.4	Partners 3.63
	Difference 6.03^***	Difference 6.8	Difference 0.98^*
	N = 29	N = 5	N = 19

Multivariate regression model of hours spent on helping children in distance learning by women and their partners during the first and second waves of COVID-19

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)

	Hours spent on distance learning by women during the lockdown	Hours spent on distance learning by partners during the lockdown	Hours spent on distance learning by women during the second wave of COVID-19	Hours spent on distance learning by partners during the second wave of COVID-19
Women's age	−0.003 (0.018)	−0.026 (0.016)	−0.038^*** (0.015)	−0.038^*** (0.013)
Women having a degree	−0.005 (0.247)	0.042 (0.221)	−0.005 (0.203)	0.143 (0.175)
Having children aged 0–5 years	−0.025 (0.317)	−0.020 (0.284)	−0.027 (0.258)	−0.058 (0.223)
Having children aged 6–10 years	1.719^*** (0.274)	0.511^** (0.245)	0.705^*** (0.223)	0.204 (0.192)
Centre	0.141 (0.315)	0.172 (0.282)	−0.211 (0.258)	−0.138 (0.222)
South	0.497^* (0.278)	0.464^* (0.249)	0.384^* (0.230)	0.111 (0.198)
Women's hours of paid work	0.001 (0.009)	0.001 (0.008)	−0.024^***	−0.001 (0.008)
Women's hours of paid work	0.001 (0.009)	0.001 (0.008)	(0.009)	−0.001 (0.008)
Women working from home	−0.372 (0.321)	−0.609^** (0.287)	−0.208 (0.250)	−0.346 (0.215)
Women not working	0.224 (0.355)	−0.632^** (0.318)	−0.648 (0.397)	−0.444 (0.342)
Partner working from home	0.510 (0.317)	0.471^* (0.284)	0.298 (0.293)	0.387 (0.252)
Partner not working	0.249 (0.282)	0.227 (0.253)	0.284 (0.281)	0.520^** (0.242)
Constant	1.184 (0.994)	2.128^** (0.890)	3.606^*** (0.794)	2.538^*** (0.684)

Observations	273	273	332	332
R-squared	0.179	0.083	0.117	0.075

Multivariate regression model of hours spent on housework by women and their partners during the first and second waves of COVID-19 (sample restricted to women with children)

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)

	Hours spent on housework by women during the lockdown	Hours spent on housework by partners during the lockdown	Hours spent on housework by women during the second wave of COVID-19	Hours spent on housework by partners during the second wave of COVID-19
Women's age	−0.005 (0.017)	−0.016 (0.018)	0.017 (0.015)	−0.024 (0.015)
Women having a degree	0.230 (0.238)	0.077 (0.245)	−0.167 (0.201)	−0.077 (0.206)
Having children aged 0–5 years	0.075 (0.306)	0.341 (0.315)	–0.059 (0.257)	−0.101 (0.262)
Having children age 6–10 years	−0.038 (0.264)	0.276 (0.272)	0.198 (0.221)	−0.076 (0.226)
Centre	−0.130 (0.304)	−0.304 (0.313)	0.104 (0.256)	0.112 (0.262)
South	1.088^*** (0.268)	−0.215 (0.276)	0.791^*** (0.228)	0.155 (0.233)
Women's hours of paid work	0.003 (0.008)	−0.001 (0.009)	−0.015 (0.009)	0.006 (0.009)
Women working from home	0.152 (0.310)	−0.590^* (0.319)	0.249 (0.248)	−0.316 (0.253)
Women not working	0.694^** (0.343)	−0.532 (0.353)	−0.225 (0.394)	0.032 (0.403)
Partner working from home	−0.243 (0.306)	−0.027 (0.315)	0.367 (0.291)	0.775^*** (0.297)
Partner not working	−0.388 (0.272)	−0.207 (0.280)	−0.182 (0.279)	0.554^* (0.285)
Constant	2.878^*** (0.959)	2.786^*** (0.987)	1.917^** (0.788)	2.103^*** (0.805)

Observations	273	273	332	332
R-squared	0.103	0.050	0.069	0.036

Descriptive statistics

	First wave of COVID-19				Second wave of COVID-19

	Mean	Std. Dev.	Min	Max	Mean	Std. Dev.	Min	Max
Panel (A) Women cohabiting with a partner during the first and second waves of COVID-19^a

Age	44.79	9.12	26	64	45.04	9.22	26	65
Have a degree	0.48	0.50	0	1	0.44	0.50	0	1
North	0.57	0.50	0	1	0.56	0.50	0	1
Centre	0.19	0.39	0	1	0.19	0.39	0	1
South	0.24	0.43	0	1	0.25	0.43	0	1
Have children	0.67	0.47	0	1	0.66	0.47	0	1
Have children aged 0–5 years	0.20	0.40	0	1	0.20	0.40	0	1
Have children aged 6–10 years	0.21	0.41	0	1	0.21	0.41	0	1
Women's hours of paid work	22.89	15.75	0	50	25.21	15.50	0	50
Working at the usual workplace	0.21	0.41	0	1	0.59	0.49	0	1
Working from home	0.45	0.50	0	1	0.25	0.43	0	1
Not working or other	0.34	0.47	0	1	0.16	0.37	0	1

Panel (B) Women with children cohabiting with a partner during the first and second waves of COVID-19^b

Age	45.60	8.57	26	64	45.50	8.63	26	64
Have a degree	0.49	0.50	0	1	0.46	0.50	0	1
North	0.55	0.50	0	1	0.54	0.50	0	1
Centre	0.18	0.38	0	1	0.19	0.39	0	1
South	0.27	0.44	0	1	0.27	0.45	0	1
Have children aged 0–5 years	0.30	0.46	0	1	0.30	0.46	0	1
Have children aged 6–10 years	0.31	0.46	0	1	0.33	0.47	0	1
Women's hours of paid work	22.53	15.29	0	50	24.61	15.05	0	50
Working at the usual workplace	0.22	0.42	0	1	0.60	0.49	0	1
Working from home	0.44	0.50	0	1	0.24	0.43	0	1
Not working or other	0.34	0.47	0	1	0.16	0.37	0	1

Multivariate regression model of hours spent on housework by women and their partners during the first and second waves of COVID-19

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)

	Hours spent on housework by women during the lockdown	Hours spent on housework by partners during the lockdown	Hours spent on housework by women during the second wave of COVID-19	Hours spent on housework by partners during the second wave of COVID-19
Women's age	0.001 (0.011)	−0.032^*** (0.012)	0.009 (0.009)	−0.026^*** (0.009)
Women having a degree	0.085 (0.189)	0.144 (0.196)	−0.129 (0.155)	−0.041 (0.157)
Women having children	0.428^* (0.233)	0.000 (0.242)	0.404^** (0.185)	0.254 (0.188)
Having children aged 0–5 years	0.178 (0.268)	0.167 (0.278)	−0.138 (0.218)	−0.142 (0.221)
Having children aged 6–10 years	0.041 (0.245)	0.188 (0.255)	0.160 (0.200)	−0.074 (0.203)
Centre	−0.047 (0.235)	−0.010 (0.244)	−0.043 (0.196)	0.162 (0.198)
South	1.135^*** (0.221)	0.045 (0.229)	0.875^*** (0.178)	0.304^* (0.181)
Women's hours of paid work	0.002 (0.007)	−0.004 (0.007)	−0.014^** (0.007)	0.005 (0.007)
Women working from home	0.045 (0.247)	−0.418 (0.256)	0.040 (0.190)	−0.350^* (0.193)
Women not working	0.583^** (0.280)	−0.507^* (0.291)	−0.297 (0.300)	0.168 (0.304)
Partner working from home	−0.297 (0.238)	−0.043 (0.247)	0.285 (0.221)	0.707^*** (0.224)
Partner not working	−0.198 (0.221)	−0.048 (0.229)	−0.202 (0.212)	0.469^** (0.215)
Constant	2.209^*** (0.614)	3.351^*** (0.637)	1.976^*** (0.490)	1.917^*** (0.497)

Observations	405	405	504	504
R-squared	0.115	0.047	0.092	0.047

The impact of COVID-19 on the gender division of housework and childcare: Evidence from two waves of the pandemic in Italy

Figures & Tables

Figure 1

Figure 2

Multivariate regression model of gender gaps in the daily hours of housework, childcare, and children's distance learning during the second wave of COVID-19

Multivariate regression model of hours spent on childcare by women and their partners during the first and second waves of COVID-19

Hours of housework and childcare during the first and second waves of COVID-19

Multivariate regression model of hours spent on helping children in distance learning by women and their partners during the first and second waves of COVID-19

Multivariate regression model of hours spent on housework by women and their partners during the first and second waves of COVID-19 (sample restricted to women with children)

Descriptive statistics

Multivariate regression model of hours spent on housework by women and their partners during the first and second waves of COVID-19

Paradigm

My account