Why The Pandemic is So Hard On Moms

After a listener on our Facebook page declared “This is a sexist pandemic!” we got to thinking: what are the quantifiable ways in which life has gotten even harder for moms in 2020 than it has for our spouses? We all know it HAS, but why? And how?

A study from Syracuse University found that four out of five adults who have stopped their usual work schedule due to the pandemic are women. 

Another study followed the possibility that, as the "invisible workload" became more visible to male spouses and children, it would spur more equal participation in household duties. That study's answer? No. They see it, they just don't care. The increased demands of this time have indeed fallen on women more.

If it's taken a million small interactions to get to the place where everybody just assumes that if there's 40% more work to do, Mom is going to do it all, it's going to take small interactions to reset that expectation as well.

In this episode, we talk about how to get started.

Here are links to the research and other writing on the topic discussed in this episode:

Elamin Abdelmahmoud for Buzzfeed: How The Pandemic Has Exacerbated The Gender Divide In Household Labor

Claire Cain Miller for NYT: Nearly Half of Men Say They Do Most of the Home Schooling. 3 Percent of Women Agree.

Jessica Grose for NYT: They Go To Mommy First

Danielle Rhubart for Syracuse University: Gender Disparities in Caretaking during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Thébaud, S., Kornrich, S., & Ruppanner, L. (2019). Great housekeeping, great expectations: Gender and housework norms

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