The Impact of COVID-19 on Utah Women and Work: Childcare and Homeschooling

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–2021 has impacted workers across the globe. Women have been disproportionately impacted during this time. At one point during the pandemic, a publication from the National Women’s Law Center reported that women dropped out of the workforce at a rate four times that of men. Utah has seen similar negative impacts on working women. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah reported that from 2019 to 2020, jobs held by women declined at a rate more than double that of men, and unemployment rose more for females than males. One major reason for these discrepancies is likely the large burden women have carried for childcare and homeschooling children as daycare facilities and schools were closed in efforts to curb the spread of the virus. In fact, a McKinsey and Lean In study reported that, in dual-income households, mothers were three times more likely than fathers to bear the main responsibility for a majority of housework and childcare. Gallup recently confirmed that women with children left the workforce at a significantly greater rate than men with children.

Although the experiences of Utah women tend to be similar in many ways to those of women across the United States, the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) has found in past research that women in the state do experience at least some challenges differently. To better understand Utah women’s experiences specifically, UWLP researchers conducted an extensive, in-depth survey focusing on the impacts of COVID-19 on women and work. The survey was opened for data collection in January 2021 to all Utah women aged 20 and older who were either currently employed or who were unemployed due to the pandemic. The aim was to understand more clearly the experiences of Utah women as they have navigated paid work during the pandemic. This comprehensive study included the collection of data on a wide variety of topic areas and included both quantitative and open-ended questions to capture participants’ perceptions and experiences. This brief is the third in a series of related reports. This research and policy brief highlights the results of the survey related to the following:
       1) The emotional impact of COVID-19,
       2) Household and caregiving concerns,
       3) Childcare and online schooling concerns,
       4) Impact of the presence of a partner in the home and other demographics, and
       5) Workplace culture and concerns.

Emotional Impact of COVID-19 on Women

The first two UWLP briefs in this series of COVID-19 reports have demonstrated the negative impact that COVID has had on Utah women at work. The first (Changes, Burnout, & Hope) confirmed that 15.9% of Utah working women exhibited one or more forms of workplace withdrawal (e.g., taking a leave of absence, moving from full-time to part-time hours, switching to less demanding jobs, being furloughed). However, the effects of COVID have included other physical and emotional challenges as well. Participants generally felt that their own mental health had declined and that they were more burned out because of the pandemic. They also worried about the physical and mental health of their loved ones. Study participants also agreed that the pandemic was harder on mothers than fathers when it came to managing home and work responsibilities. The rest of this brief specifically examines some of these difficulties by focusing on concerns related to childcare and homeschooling.

Household and Caregiving Concerns

A mixed picture emerges regarding perceptions of household and caregiving concerns. The statistical means were above the neutral midpoint in respondents’ assessments of stress and exhaustion from caregiving concerns (e.g., elderly, sick family), household duties and balancing home and work responsibilities. However, respondents also were slightly positive (above the midpoint) about equal distribution of household chores and satisfaction with caregiving responsibilities. Yet, when comparing respondents with and without kids, “exhaustion” and “struggling to balance work-life role” agreement levels were higher, and perceptions of “household equality/satisfaction” agreement levels were lower for those with children under 18.

Women of color were more likely to agree that they are exhausted and struggling to balance work and home life. For example, Latina women agreed slightly more that their home responsibilities are making them exhausted and that they struggled to balance work and home responsibilities, as compared to White women. Women without college degrees agreed slightly more that home responsibilities were exhausting when compared to women with college degrees. However, women with college degrees found it slightly more difficult to balance work and home responsibilities than those without degrees.

Childcare and Online School Concerns

Parents with the youngest children (ages 0–5) had the highest agreement regarding childcare stress and lowest internet and work/school concerns. Parents with children ages 6–11 were similar, but with slightly lower childcare stress agreement levels and higher internet and work/school concerns. Having older children at home (ages 12–17) substantially reduced agreement regarding childcare stress, which could be because these older children could manage themselves and take on greater responsibility in caring for younger siblings. However, having older children also increased internet concerns and concerns regarding sufficient internet and devices to manage both work and school. This could have been because of the greater online demands of teens in middle school and high school, not only in an online schooling environment but with computer-based homework when the student was attending school in person. It is important to note that by January 2021, many childcare and homeschooling concerns may have subsided.

Interestingly, participants’ levels of concern for internet access and the availability of adequate technological devices revealed differences in many demographics. For example, technology concerns were greater for women without a college degree. Finally, the data showed that concerns over adequate computer/internet access grew stronger the lower the income reported by the participant. There was some overlap in these results because White respondents were more likely than women of color to have a college degree and to have a higher reported income.

Impact of Partners and Other Demographics

Next, we examined the differences between single mothers and mothers living with a partner. Across the board, single working mothers had higher levels of agreement regarding the negative outcomes of COVID-19. This was true for burnout, childcare concerns, reduced physical and mental health, and access to reliable internet and sufficient electronic devices for online schooling and work.

This difference is especially important to consider when examining race. Specifically, Hispanic/Latina respondents with children were much more likely to report being a single parent than were White respondents with kids. Thus, these women were more likely to be struggling from stress around childcare and concern around internet and computers. For those living with a partner (spouse or domestic partner), our survey also showed that equitable sharing of household chores and childcare responsibilities is correlated with lower perceptions of physical and mental decline, childcare-related stress, and burnout.

Workplace Culture and Concerns

Providing employee support and a positive work environment is one critical way companies can reduce employee stress and other negative impacts of balancing work and non-work roles, especially in remote working situations and for mothers. Our survey results show that there is plenty of opportunity for improvement in this regard. Examining the overall sample, respondents were neutral, on average, regarding whether remote work had increased inclusivity in their companies and whether gender equity was a priority in the workplace. However, employees generally had hope that their organization will thrive and will create a positive work environment after the pandemic is over.

Recommendations and Conclusions

This research and policy brief sheds light on some of the nonwork-related effects of COVID 19 on women in Utah’s labor force, particularly those with children in the home. Due to COVID-19, Utah women in the labor force are dealing with many challenges related to home and children that are impacting their experiences with paid work. Those struggles are magnified for mothers with children in the home and, in particular, single mothers in the labor force.

In summary, Utah women agree that they suffered increased burnout and decreased mental health, and they also feel burdened by worrying about the welfare of their loved ones and managing both home and work duties. Women with children under 18 in the home agree more strongly than those without kids that balancing home and work roles is difficult. They are also less likely to agree that household and caregiving responsibilities are equitably shared. Many women also have concerns about adequate internet and devices for online schooling. Concerns over childcare are less prevalent for those with older children, but adequate resources for online schooling becomes more prevalent for those with older children. Single working mothers also agree more strongly that their burnout increased during the pandemic, that childcare concerns are a major stressor, that physical and mental health have declined, and they have experienced greater concerns regarding access to adequate internet and devices for online schooling. Finally, in terms of workplace culture, women with children who are in the labor force worry more about being judged negatively for having to balance work and home responsibilities. Perhaps because of these factors, they are less likely to feel comfortable sharing work-life challenges and more likely to consider leaving their job.

Based on the results of this research, there are important actions that can help with a more equitable recovery for Utah women in the workforce. First, in the home, where present, partners can help women buffer the challenges highlighted in this brief by sharing household and childcare responsibilities. Second, employers can foster an inclusive environment and initiate communication with employees to understand these challenges and to provide adequate support and reasonable accommodations where needed. This will provide not only positive social good, but it is also likely to have a positive impact on business outcomes by increasing employees’ psychological safety and organizational commitment, thus fostering increased job performance and employee retention. And third, Utah state and local governments can implement policies that support positive changes in terms of childcare, flexible work arrangements, family leave policies, gender pay gap, and career relaunching programs.

As Utah leaders and residents do more to understand the physical, behavioral, and emotional effects that Utah women have faced related to COVID-19, a more equitable recovery can be crafted. This will, in turn, strengthen our businesses, communities, and the state as a whole.

To learn more about the impact of COVID-19 on Utah women and work, including childcare and homeschooling, read the full brief.