The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the burdens mothers bear – burdens that have so far been ignored

When the labor force, which had previously shared social responsibilities, shifted to individual households, the burden fell primarily on women. But perhaps more importantly, the true impact of this burden is invisible—even to the women themselves.

The three-year data from 2020 to 2023 (the worst period of the epidemic) exposed the reality of the weak foundation of social structure. In fact, the informal or “natural” work performed by women is an unequal distribution of labor and responsibility.

This reality has clear economic implications. The average salary of women in Canada is approximately 69% of that of men. Mothers’ wages also fell by 49% in the first year after a child was born and by 34% after 10 years, while fathers’ wages were largely unaffected.

This disparity—often called the motherhood gap or childhood penalty—has widened over time and across generations and has its roots in how society values ​​and allocates caregiving work.

Studying families during COVID-19

Even before the pandemic, women tended to be responsible for most of the household chores and child care.

This was the reality when COVID-19 arrived, as social isolation mandates increased mental health issues in families while reducing social supports.

Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews and focus groups between January 2021 and August 2023, involving 113 people – social work students and professionals from Western University’s School of Social Work, King’s University School of Social Work and local school boards – to examine the impact of COVID-19 on families enrolled in our electronic family support and assistance program in the first three years.

Participants were asked about how families have been impacted during COVID-19 and related restrictions. We did not expect the disproportionate costs of these increased family responsibilities to be invisible.

Our social system positions women, especially mothers, as the main bearers, shouldering the concentrated burden of the family. When the already inadequate scaffolding of social fabric is dismantled, as it has during COVID-19, the pressure is too concentrated. Policies, social expectations and workplace culture exacerbate these imbalances.

Inequality hides in plain sight

There are stories of mothers juggling working from home with the daily demands of their children, balancing face-to-face work without caring for their children, and facing job losses and financial crises. After each story, we asked, among other questions, whether they thought it was related to their gender.

The vast majority of women said, “No.”

The unequal burden placed on women by the COVID-19 pandemic is evident in the new roles they are asked to assume, the stress associated with these roles, and the psychological and emotional impact of these increased expectations.

However, the person carrying the load does not realize the concentrated weight of the load.

Participants in our study did not feel that the stories they shared—losing their jobs, becoming home caregivers, or providing mental health case management and support while everything, including on-campus learning, was shut down—were related to the fact that they were women.

These responses reveal the extent to which gender expectations are internalized and viewed as circumstances or coincidence rather than inequality.

For example, some women said they shouldered more of the household burden simply because they happened to be home during the day, while others said they shouldered more of the household burden because they worked outside the home during the day. One participant said:

“Whoever is handling it at home [our] three children, [they’re] Not really doing any housework. That happened to be my husband, who was always home. [I would] go home [after having] After work, I now have to take care of the kids and dinner, and then I have to do all the housework. It’s heavy but I really don’t think it’s because of me [am a woman]”.

Even though the cost of this burden is obvious, the fact that it is gendered remains hidden. Another said:

“I don’t think I closed the business because of being a woman. It was just a lot to deal with. It was just draining every day.”

It is understood that if women are unable to bear the burden, basic social structures may collapse, as one mother observed:

“My mental health has the biggest impact on the mental health and emotional regulation of the entire family.”

The cost of ignoring the burden

Motherhood has profound positive implications, and it is not inconsistent to acknowledge the need for fairness and balance. Instead, acknowledging the disproportionate responsibilities related to family well-being, child care, education, and financial equity can justify women’s efforts to keep up. It also challenges the dominant messages within all of us.

The mental health and educational impacts of COVID-19 on children, youth and families will be long-lasting. The impact on parents, especially mothers, will continue.

Only when we truly acknowledge this disproportionate burden can we discuss how these expectations fail everyone, especially in times of structural instability.

Until care and emotional labor are viewed as shared social responsibilities rather than private obligations that women are disproportionately shouldered, crises like COVID-19 will continue to deepen existing inequalities. SKS

SKS

This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.