Over the past few years, working from home has become the norm for many professionals – with added momentum from the coronavirus pandemic. This development is often thought to be a key factor for balancing work and family life. But is this really the case? How does working from home impact the division of housework and childcare between women and men? These questions are the focus of a new study from the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London. The findings: Gender role attitudes play a decisive role – for both men and women. In families with progressive views on gender roles, working from home actually contributes to a fairer division of care work, whereas in families with more traditional gender perceptions, remote work can even amplify existing inequalities in the distribution of these tasks.
Authors Heejung Chung, a professor of work and employment, and Olga Leshchenko, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Konstanz, conducted their research on the basis of data from the German Family Panel (pairfam) collected between 2008 and 2021. The researchers found that only men with progressive views on gender roles also take on more childcare tasks when they work from home more frequently. By contrast, men with traditional views on gender roles show little behavioural change, while women with more traditional views tend to take on even more unpaid care work when working remotely. "Working from home can be a great equalizer – but only in households where men see themselves as equal partners in caregiving", explains Heejung Chung, director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the observed patterns persisted in heterosexual partnerships. Men who saw housework as a shared responsibility used the additional flexibility to spend more time with their families, while others saw it as an opportunity to work longer hours. "Our results show that structural measures – such as the right to flexible work – are essential, but not enough on their own", emphasizes Olga Leshchenko. "We also need a cultural shift that changes how families share responsibilities at home". The pandemic made it particularly clear that, without broader societal change, remote work can even deepen existing inequalities. The researchers therefore call for political measures that foster progressive gender roles.
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European Sociological Review