Cracking Under Pressure? Gender Role Attitudes Toward Maternal Employment in Times of a Pandemic

14 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2021 Last revised: 5 Dec 2024

See all articles by Natalia Danzer

Natalia Danzer

Free University of Berlin (FUB) - School of Business & Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute

Mathias Huebener

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)

Astrid Pape

Free University of Berlin (FUB)

C. Katharina Spiess

Federal Institute for Population Research; Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Nico Siegel

Infratest dimap

Gert Wagner

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Human Development

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Abstract

This paper studies the effects of Covid-19 related daycare and school closures on gender role attitudes toward maternal employment in Germany. We compare women and men with dependent children to those without children one year after the outbreak of the pandemic. Using data on gender role attitudes from 2008 through 2021, we find that fathers' egalitarian attitudes toward maternal employment dropped substantially in 2021. This drop is observed for men in West Germany, who showed a steady progression toward more egalitarian attitudes in the pre-pandemic period. Attitudes by women are not affected. These findings suggest that the pandemic not only affected the short-term allocation of housework and childcare, but also reversed recent trends toward more egalitarian gender roles.

Keywords: ALLBUS, COMPASS, COVID-19, childcare, difference-in-difference, gender role attitudes

JEL Classification: J13, J16, J18, J22

Suggested Citation

Danzer, Natalia and Huebener, Mathias and Pape, Astrid and Spiess, C. Katharina and Siegel, Nico and Wagner, Gert, Cracking Under Pressure? Gender Role Attitudes Toward Maternal Employment in Times of a Pandemic. IZA Discussion Paper No. 14471, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3870202

Natalia Danzer (Contact Author)

Free University of Berlin (FUB) - School of Business & Economics ( email )

Germany

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, 01069
Germany

Mathias Huebener

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) ( email )

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

Astrid Pape

Free University of Berlin (FUB) ( email )

Van't-Hoff-Str. 8
Berlin, Berlin 14195
Germany

C. Katharina Spiess

Federal Institute for Population Research ( email )

Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 4
Wiesbaden, Hessia 65185
Germany

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

Saarstr. 21
Jakob Welder-Weg 4
Mainz, 55122
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Nico Siegel

Infratest dimap ( email )

Moosdorfstrasse 7-9
Berlin, 12435
Germany

Gert Wagner

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Lentzeallee 94
D-14195 Berlin, 14195
Germany

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