Presentation Title
The Division of Paid and Unpaid Labor During the Pandemic
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Document Type
Oral Presentation
Department
Sociology
Faculty Mentor
Cheryl Laz, PhD
Keywords
Workplace, women, pandemic, work from home, remote work environment, families, women in the workplace
Abstract
The coronavirus pandemic has caused many working adults to shift from in-person work to remotely working from home. Before the coronavirus pandemic, only about 4% of the U.S. population worked remotely from home (Rosalsky, 2020). As states and local governments find ways to reopen their economies, there is a growing concern for women’s return or not return to work. It is known that women make less money than men and that women take on the brunt of unpaid labor at home (Donner, 2020). Both of these factors make it more likely for women to leave their current jobs in the face of a pandemic and return home to provide child care and household duties. By interviewing a sample of working adults in the Southern Maine area, this research investigates the gendered differences related to the division of paid and unpaid labor as a direct result of the current pandemic. The sample of men and women all in heterosexual relationships are interviewed to investigate how the pandemic has affected their work lives. This research explores how paid and unpaid labor is divided and if there has been a gendered shift in the organization of this labor as a result of the pandemic.
The Division of Paid and Unpaid Labor During the Pandemic - transcript
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The Division of Paid and Unpaid Labor During the Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has caused many working adults to shift from in-person work to remotely working from home. Before the coronavirus pandemic, only about 4% of the U.S. population worked remotely from home (Rosalsky, 2020). As states and local governments find ways to reopen their economies, there is a growing concern for women’s return or not return to work. It is known that women make less money than men and that women take on the brunt of unpaid labor at home (Donner, 2020). Both of these factors make it more likely for women to leave their current jobs in the face of a pandemic and return home to provide child care and household duties. By interviewing a sample of working adults in the Southern Maine area, this research investigates the gendered differences related to the division of paid and unpaid labor as a direct result of the current pandemic. The sample of men and women all in heterosexual relationships are interviewed to investigate how the pandemic has affected their work lives. This research explores how paid and unpaid labor is divided and if there has been a gendered shift in the organization of this labor as a result of the pandemic.
