“If it’s gonna get done, I have to do it myself” - A qualitative study about Covid-19, household labor and equality

Abstract

This paper investigates in what way the still ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has affected the gendered division of household labor. Historically speaking, in most countries and cultures, (and in cohabiting relationships), women have taken on the main responsibility for the household labor. The pandemic has affected a lot of workplaces, many employees have gone from working in offices towards working remotely from home. With the rise in time spent at home, one can wonder how that has affected the level of equality within the division of household labor. This qualitative research consists of data gathered from 11 interviews with individuals in cohabiting relationships. The analysis shows that the individuals within these cohabitating, childless relationships appear to have been somewhat unaffected by the pandemic, in regard to their division of household labor. In some cases, the level seemed to have gone down, resulting in an even more unequal division of household labor.