Home, Sweet Home? The Impact of Working from Home on the Division of Unpaid Work during the COVID-19 Lockdown

The Impact of Household Income Differences on the Division of Unpaid Work in the Household

“…According to a collection of 133 time-use surveys conducted in 76 nations/regions over the last two decades, Charmes reported that women spent far more time on unpaid work at home than men, and that three-quarters of unpaid work, or more than 75% of total hours, was undertaken by women globally [1]. Other studies had also demonstrated that there was no country in which women and men undertake the same portion of unpaid work [12]. However, in addition to the high gender differences in the time of providing unpaid work, the types of unpaid work performed by different genders are also differentiated decomposed [13] [14].…”

“…Households with higher total household income tend to outsource household work, thereby reducing the total allocation of unpaid work, based on which intra-household division of labour can then take place. Within households, the higher the individual's income and the higher the percentage of total household income, the greater the bargaining power of the partner to influence the division of household work and whether the division of household and childcare work is in his/her interest [12]. However, the extent to which income influences the division of unpaid work is still not precisely established.…”