“You’re a teacher you’re a mother, you’re a worker”: Gender inequality during COVID‐19 in Ireland

Abstract

The novel coronavirus was declared a global pandemic in March 2020. Unlike previous highly contagious diseases that brought the threat of global instability this century such as SARS-CoV, Zika virus (ZIKV), Swine flu (H1N1), and the Avian flu (H5N1), COVID-19 was unable to be contained. Global restrictions were implemented to curb the spread of the virus, which included but were not limited to the closure of all educational institutions and the advice to engage in remote working. This study aims to understand the experience of working mothers who managed work and home duties during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. Thirty working mothers were interviewed in this study, and qualitative analyses were conducted to gain insight into their work and family life during the restrictions. The findings of the analysis indicate that working mothers have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 in relation to their psychological well-being, experiences of negative emotions, and the redefinition of family dynamics, in which working mothers have adopted additional and disproportionate care burden. These findings are consistent with the current research arguing that COVID-19 has highlighted an increase in the gender gap

A Qualitative Study of Child and Adolescent Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ireland

“…There has been an interruption to care arrangements, youth education and leisure services, as well as to schools and other organisations. Disruptions have been shown to disproportionately affect women [5], while reductions in families' incomes, from a decrease in work hours, have negatively impacted households' quality of life. These factors have had significant impacts on children's health and wellbeing [6].…”

Psychological distress and workload as predictors of satisfaction with life in Peruvian female university professors with a family burden

“…Lastly, and focusing on a gender-based analysis, some authors state that women constitute a vulnerable group when it comes to workload, which acts as a factor that decreases their degree of satisfaction with life (Kuhn et al, 2021). In addition, although some studies reveal that it is men who show a greater level of dissatisfaction with their lives (Dutot, 2020), in agreement with Clark et al (2021), working mothers are the ones who have been more negatively affected by COVID-19 than men, experiencing different issues in terms of their well-being.…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women Working in Higher Education

“…Where boundaries between home and work are blurred women may feel greater levels of stress and workplace burnout (Clark et al, 2020). In addition, to domestic tasks, stress can also originate in the workplace, through for example direct or indirect discrimination or lack of opportunity to gain promotion (Doyle and Hind, 1998;Knights and Richards, 2003).…”

“…Aldossari and Chaudhry (2021) noted the difference in how men and women see the transformed spaces; where men see home as a restorative place whereas women see it as a place of unpaid work, which may have led to feelings of inadequacy and burnout. Inappropriate or unsuitable spaces to conduct work, or having to work unsociable hours when children are asleep has added to the burden (Clark et al, 2020;Nash and Churchill, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has arguably led to women losing resources available to them and subsequently increasing vulnerability to further losses, when compared to men (Peck 2020).…”

“…Domestic roles and responsibilities appear to become less defined, the boundary between home and work became increasingly blurred (Alon et al, 2020;Cui et al, 2020;Yildirim and Eslen-Ziya, 2020). Household living spaces were transformed into places of learning, childcare and work (Clark et al, 2020). There are indications that divisions widened during the COVID-19 pandemic (Guatimosim, 2020;Minello, 2020).…”