Abstract
Stay-at-home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic challenged household members who faced forced cohabitation and increased housework (domestic chores and childcare). Based on individual data collected online from partnered women during the spring 2020 in France, we study the lockdown effects on housework division and conflicts between partners. We find that during the lockdown, couples experienced minor changes in the allocation of housework, mainly carried out by women. Simultaneously, men increased their participation in the production of household goods mainly through “enjoyable” or “quasi-leisure” activities. Our results suggest that the gendered connotation of domestic work can be context-dependent and not stable over time. Tensions between partners, reported by women, increased during the lockdown, and appear to be strongly correlated with an unequal division of housework. Overall, our results suggest that this period did not structurally affect the gender stereotypes at home.
| Translated title of the contribution | Les couples pendant le confinement: « La vie en rose »? |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Pages (from-to) | 27-50 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Economie et statistique |
| Volume | 2022 |
| Issue number | 536-537 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Funding
Les auteurs remercient Martine Audibert, Jean-Marie Baland, Simone Bertoli, Habiba Djebbari, Elise Huillery, Perrin Lefebvre, Karine Marazyan et les participants au Workshop LIEPP-PRESAGE (février 2021) pour leurs suggestions et leurs remarques, ainsi que deux rapporteurs anonymes pour leurs commentaires éclairés. Une partie de cette étude découle de recherches menées alors que Hugues Champeaux était affilié au CERDI, au CNRS et à l’Université Clermont Auvergne. Francesca Marchetta remercie l’Agence nationale de la recherche pour le soutien qu’elle a reçu par le biais du programme « Investissements d’avenir » (ANR-10-LABBX-14-01).
