New Delhi (NVI): A study shows that working mothers in the United Kingdom are faring worse than fathers since the lockdown began as their work time is interrupted more often by childcare other activities at home.
According to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), UK mothers are one-and-a-half times more likely than fathers to have either lost their job or quit since the lockdown began, World Economic Forum said in a report.
There is no doubt that lockdown has put pressure on parents’ time around the world, but while fathers tend to do less, they have also increased their involvement in childcare, says the study.
The research shows that working mothers’ working hours have fallen more, proportionally, and their work time is interrupted more often by childcare, reports WEF.
With children staying at home and needing to be entertained or educated, lockdown and school closures around the world is putting more pressure on families.
The IFS’s study shows that this could have a long-lasting effect on the career prospects of working mothers as they are bearing the brunt.
In the UK, schools and nurseries began to reopen from June 1 but a large number of school-age children remain at their homes, in the care of their parents, who may also be working. According to UNESCO, the UK is not alone as there are efforts to contain COVID-19 by shutting schools in more than 100 countries, which is affecting almost 70% of the world’s student population.
In such a scenario, schooling and looking after children at home is putting a large burden on families who are also weathering the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the report, in 2014/15, mothers were in paid work at 80% of the rate of fathers; now this is 70% of the fathers’ rate. Before COVID-19, mothers in paid work worked an average of 73% of the hours fathers worked, and this has now fallen to 68%.
The research further notes that the effects of this discrepancy will continue for a long time even after the pandemic as workers who have lost their jobs permanently may struggle to find new ones, and workers who have reduced their hours may struggle to increase them again. Meanwhile, workers whose productivity has suffered due to interruptions may be penalized in pay and promotion decisions, the report claimed.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020, women are persistently less present in the labour market than men. On average, about 78% of adult men (aged 15 to 64) are in the labour market, while only 55% of women of the same cohort are actively engaged in work, report WEF.
