Women 'bearing the brunt' of lockdown childcare

Women have been "bearing the brunt" of childcare responsibilities under lockdown, yet men are more likely to say caring or domestic roles are negatively impacting their paid jobs, new research reveals.
Women are doing more childcare than men during lockdown. PIcture: Dominic Lipinski/PA WireWomen are doing more childcare than men during lockdown. PIcture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Women are doing more childcare than men during lockdown. PIcture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

The study by King’s College London found that since lockdown, mothers said they were spending seven hours on an average weekday on childcare, compared to just five hours for fathers.

Despite this, 43 per cent of men said their caring or domestic responsibilities are negatively impacting their ability to do their paid job by at least a fair amount, versus 32 per cent of working mothers who say the same.

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The survey also revealed differences in the way men and women view the pandemic, with women more likely to find coronavirus stressful, with more than half saying they felt anxious or depressed, and men more likely to be comfortable with a return to the workplace than women.

Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, Professor Rosie Campbell, said: “Women have always done more childcare than men, and our survey reveals this is continuing under lockdown. Despite the pandemic putting home and work lives under strain, fathers don’t appear to be helping out with the children more. But they do seem to be getting a bigger shock from having to balance their caring and domestic responsibilities with new ways of working – which may reflect the fact they are simply less used to combining both types of work.

“These findings also reveal that men and women have different concerns and responses to the uncertainties and disruptions we are currently facing, which to some extent reflects what we already know about the gendered division of labour and gendered patterns in mental health.

“Taking an optimistic view, this unexpected disruption of roles could be a catalyst for a more equitable sharing of paid and unpaid work. Less optimistically, women’s greater vulnerability to stress and anxiety may be linked to the heightened economic and social impacts many are experiencing as a result of this crisis, as revealed by other research.”

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Separate research from Uniovrsity College London (UCL) has examined changing behaviours in lockdown and found that more than half of the UK population are now exercising or meditating at least once a day, while the younger generation are becoming more irritable and struggling the most.

Yoga, meditation and reading have seen the biggest increase in relaxation activities and walking, cycling and running are on the rise, with people doing more of previous sporting activities rather than finding new ones.

Dr Caroline Wood, from the UCL Centre for Digital Public Health in Emergencies, who worked on the survey and app design, said: “No-one knows quite how long we will be in lockdown, or whether we will experience future lockdowns, so it’s important to stay motivated to protect our mental and physical wellbeing.

“It is encouraging that more than half of those surveyed are still managing to stay active and find time to relax. However, lockdown is clearly taking a toll on our emotional wellbeing, particularly amongst 18 to 24 year olds.

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