Women spent more time on female-typed tasks and men (in Nigeria and South Africa) on male-typed tasks before and during the lockdown.
Authors
Mahima Raina, Associate Professor, Jindal School of Psychology and Counselling, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Ihuoma Faith Obioma, Institute of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Ameeta Jaga, School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, South Africa.
Wakil Ajibola Asekun, Department of Psychology, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria.
Alina S. Hernandez Bark, Institute of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Summary
This cross-sectional study examined gender differences between male- and female-typed housework during the early COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. Participants in Germany, India, Nigeria, and South Africa (N = 823) rated their housework share before and during the lockdown, then speculated about the division of housework performed by men and women in general, before and post-lockdown.
Women spent more time on female-typed tasks and men (in Nigeria and South Africa) on male-typed tasks before and during the lockdown. Irrespective of participants’ gender, they speculated that men’s and women’s housework was more pronounced post-lockdown than before, but we only found gender differences in South Africa and India.
Gender role ideology (GRI) moderated the gender‒housework relationship in Germany, but gender did not moderate the paid work hours and housework relationship in any country. Our findings suggest that gendered housework persisted in these countries and raises concerns that this pattern is likely to continue post-lockdown.
Published in: Journal of Social Issues
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