Did Descriptive and Prescriptive Norms About Gender Equality at Home Change During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Cross-National Investigation.
Pers Soc Psychol Bull
; : 1461672231219719, 2024 Jan 29.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38284645
ABSTRACT
Using data from 15 countries, this article investigates whether descriptive and prescriptive gender norms concerning housework and child care (domestic work) changed after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of a total of 8,343 participants (M = 19.95, SD = 1.68) from two comparable student samples suggest that descriptive norms about unpaid domestic work have been affected by the pandemic, with individuals seeing mothers' relative to fathers' share of housework and child care as even larger. Moderation analyses revealed that the effect of the pandemic on descriptive norms about child care decreased with countries' increasing levels of gender equality; countries with stronger gender inequality showed a larger difference between pre- and post-pandemic. This study documents a shift in descriptive norms and discusses implications for gender equality-emphasizing the importance of addressing the additional challenges that mothers face during health-related crises.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Pers Soc Psychol Bull
/
Pers. soc. psychol. bull
/
Personality & social psychology bulletin
Year:
2024
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Switzerland