When the World Changed II

Division of tasks between male and female members of households

More than half of the respondents (60%) expressed that due to the coronavirus epidemic and changes related to it (e.g. predominantly staying at home) the division of tasks among the household members did not change. However, this answer leads us to another question: how do household duties look during ordinary times? Based on research, it can be assumed that most of the tasks connected with housework were (still) carried out by women even during the pandemic. As confirmed in a research carried out in 2019 by the Institute of Sociology SAS[2], traditional division of gender roles had been relatively strongly supported by female and male residents of Slovakia. The claim that women are supposed to care for the household and men should make money, is has been strongly rooted in people’s beliefs.[3] It is also confirmed by Eurostat statistics[4], according to which, Slovakia (with Greece and Bulgaria) is among the countries with the biggest gender inequality in regards to caring for the household and family. The fact that the momentary division of household tasks stayed unchanged was more often spontaneously described by younger people (18-29), women and men on maternity or parental leave, parents of a single child and also people living with a partner, who participated in our research.

On the contrary, a quarter of the respondents spoke about changes to the division of household tasks (26%). They described a different housework schedule and also a different division of tasks. Changes were most often mentioned by people aged 40-49, parents of more children and respondents living with a family or a multigenerational family. In addition, many also described the way the division of housework looked like at the time. A fifth of the respondents (20%) mentioned a more equal division of household tasks – “taking shifts” or doing housework together. Several tried to divide housework tasks more equally: “One of us does the washing up, another dries it, third does the cooking, someone else cleans and sets the table. It is not a smooth process yet, but we have set the rules…” On the other hand, 17% of respondents described that the woman cared for children and the household more than usually; this was most often mentioned by respondents on maternity and parental leave or parents (without regard to the number of children) and respondents living in a family/partnership. To a lesser extent, some respondents mentioned that the man participated in housework more or children took part (mostly in families with two or more children): “We are teaching the kids that they too have to participate in housework to a greater extent now.”

How did the epidemic impact childcare?

Most parents who participated in our research declared significant changes in regards to caring for children.[5] Approximately a fifth stated that homeschooling was the biggest difference in comparison to “normal” life (19%). Many perceived the homeschooling process to be very burdensome. As one respondent stated: “Homeschooling is catastrophic!” Parents complained mostly about how demanding it was to find balance between homeschool and their work obligations.[6] As the research demonstrated, the situation in families was particularly pressing for parents of preschoolers and children in primary education, who had to dedicate a considerable part of the day to either homeschooling the children to fulfil the educational demands or to entertaining them.[7] The age and number of children was decidedly the biggest factor impacting how burdened the parents were. However, the demands proved to be particularly high for parents with children with special educational needs (e.g. children on the autistic spectrum or suffering from dyslexia). Supporting service institutions (e.g. daycare centres) were closed just like schools.

In relation to childcare, 17% of parents described restricting activities outside of the household. In addition to not attending primary schools, kindergartens or extracurricular clubs, parents also stated that children stopped going to playgrounds and shops. Some parents limited taking walks with the children to a minimum and restricted their outings to the balcony or stayed in close proximity to their home. Approximately one tenth of parents (11%) mentioned that childcare during the epidemic, even when disregarding schooling itself, was more burdensome than usually and meant having more household obligations. In this regard, many mentioned the necessity to cook for the family every day: “Loads more cooking!” Others complained how difficult it is to balance care with working from home: “I can focus on work only when the kid is sleeping, so it is terrible!” or the difficulty in balancing the needs of more children of different ages, when one needed to be homeschooled while others needed constant care or a supply of creative activities.

Almost 11% of parents stated that their children were almost independent or already adult. They often described restricting immediate contacts, lack of help from grandparents but also different functional forms of mutual help and cooperation (e.g. adult child did the shopping and the parents cooked for the whole family). Relationships between parents and their adult children will be pursued in the next report. Another bigger change in regards to childcare (11%) was represented by the amount of activities the family did together, and also time spent playing games and entertaining children. To a lesser extent, respondents mentioned that their families spent more time outside during the pandemic (6%), particularly in the garden or backyard. The availability of a private exterior space resonated in the answers as a welcome possibility for a “safe” distraction for children and parents.

A further change in care that was spontaneously described by parents in the research was an increase in the amount of time that they were spending with children. The change could be formulated positively: “We can finally spend time together,” but also negatively: “I don’t have time for myself, I am with the kids non-stop.” Furthermore, respondents declared changes in their daily schedules and several described that they were operating on a “holiday” or “weekend” schedule at the time[8], while many stated it was necessary to modify the schedule and set clear rules. Others emphasized self-care, mentioned watching movies and videos together and also said that children participated in housework more and the like. In regards to housework, several mothers mentioned that they perceived the situation as a unique opportunity to teach children about chores that they otherwise do not have time for when going to school and extracurricular clubs, e.g. cooking, doing the laundry and ironing.

In comparison to other parents, those on maternity and parental leave more often described the current childcare situation as unchanged and thus not differing from life before the outbreak of the pandemic. On the other hand, it was these respondents who more often spontaneously reflected restricting activities outside the household and also excluding social contacts, which definitely related to the feeling of social isolation that is often experienced by mothers (mostly) on maternity or parental leave. In this regard, female respondents missed the immediate contact and assistance from grandparents (their parents or parents-in-law) but also meeting with acquaintances and friends. That is why they experienced childcare as more burdensome and perceived that they were the sole entertainers for their children. They perceived these changes rather negatively despite the fact that they spend more time in nature, in the garden or backyard than usual.

Parents with a single child as well as respondents aged 30-39 (while it can be assumed that these groups overlap to some extent[9]), on the other hand, talked more about restrictions, whether to activities outside the home but also of social contacts; they also talked about playing more with children or managing their programme at home. However, in comparison to other parents, they also more often stated that their situation had not changed and that childcare duties stayed the same and did not differ. Parents of two (but also three and more children) as well as respondents aged 40-49 accented homeschooling more and childcare was more burdensome for them (it meant having more obligations). They also more often described experiencing these changes negatively using a descriptions ranging from neutral to expressive – e.g. “real hell” or “as if I was in prison”. It is interesting that a much smaller number of respondents from multigenerational families described their experience in such negative terms.[10] We assume that obligations could have been divided more equally among individual male and female members of such families or grandparents (still) helped with childcare and housework.

Our research shows that during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia, the largest burden of obligations was borne mainly by women – mothers. Their regular active areas like their job, childcare and housework multiplied and other activities were added. The situation was the most pressing in households with preschoolers and children in primary education.

Soňa G. Lutherová

Miroslava Hlinčíková
Ľubica Voľanská

Publication of the text was supported by the grant VEGA 2/0088/19 Reflexive writing as a method of ethnographic research.

[1] Read more HERE.

[2] Read more HERE. 

[3] In the research 51% of respondents sided with this opinion.

[4] According to Eurostat statistics, there are differences between men and women in regards to housework: 60% of Slovak women do housework daily in comparison with only 16% of Slovak men. See also the situation in the Czech Republic – Heřmanová, M.: Dopady opatření proti pandemii na ženy a muže na trhu. (Impacts of the Protective Pandemic Measures on Women and Men on the Market) Available HERE. 

[5] It was reflected more often in women’s responses than men’s, however male parents were significantly less represented in the sample than women – mothers.

[6] In this regard, it is necessary to remark that the research was carried out during the first week after the implementation of extraordinary measures. Most schools still had not stabilized their online education yet, thus later the attitude of parents may have changed (even though not necessarily to more positive opinions).

[7] A comparative study by Eurofound indicates similar results. Up to 22% of people living in a household with younger children (under 12) stated that they find it hard to focus on work during the day (as compared to 5% of people without children and 7% of people with children aged 12-17). Even though it was a prevailing trend in the past, it has significantly increased (Living, Working and COVID-19. Eurofound survey full report.) Available HERE. 

[8] In a commentary for the SME daily, Zuzana Búriková described the situation as “prolonged Christmas without the holidays”, as schools were closed but schooling continued (Búriková, Z. 2020. Koho domáce vzdelávanie hádže cez palubu. (Who is Forgotten in Homeschooling.) In: Denník N, 23 March 2020. Available HERE).

[9] The differences in perceptions of children by age also copies the average age of their children, i.e while parents in their thirties had mostly young children, who were not yet school-aged, people in their forties were more burdened by schooling.

[10] Simultaneously, multigenerational families comprised a relatively small number of the total research sample.

Photo 1: K. McClintock – unsplash.com