Changes in Work Hours During the Covid-19 Pandemic by Sex, Marital Status, and Parental Status

In the past several decades, there has been a cultural movement towards women being employed in the labor force rather than working in the home. With the Covid-19 pandemic, as many workers began to work from home, boundaries between home and work became less clear. Using pooled cross-sectional data from the 2019-2020 American Time Use Survey, I examine how the work hours of different groups were impacted during the pandemic, with respect to sex, marital status, and parental status. I find that work hours decreased most significantly for partnered mothers who did not work from home. Partnered mothers likely reduced their hours in response to heightened childcare needs as their spouses continued working their usual hours. My findings indicate that the pandemic contributed to inequalities in employment between men and women. Now, with most schools in America once again holding classes in person, less time is needed for childcare activities. Future policy should be aimed at getting partnered mothers to increase their hours or rejoin the workforce, as they now have more flexibility to do so.