Gender differences in housework and childcare among Japanese workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

  1. CORoNaWork Project
  2. Toshihide Sakuragi
  3. Rie Tanaka
  4. Mayumi Tsuji
  5. Seiichiro Tateishi
  6. Ayako Hino
  7. Akira Ogami
  8. Masako Nagata
  9. Shinya Matsuda
  10. Yoshihisa Fujino

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Abstract

Objectives

Although gender stereotypes regarding paid work and unpaid work are changing, most wives are responsible for taking care of the family and home in Japan. It is unclear how time spent on housework and childcare has changed between working men and women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. The purpose of this study is to investigate how working men and women's responsibilities for housework and childcare changed during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan depending on work hours, job type, the number of employees in the workplace, and frequency of telecommuting.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis (N = 14,454) was conducted using data from an Internet monitoring study (CORoNa Work Project), which was conducted in December 2020. A multilevel logistic model with nested prefectures of residence was conducted to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for change in time devoted to housework and childcare among men and women adjusting for age, household income, presence of spouse who work, work hours, job type, the number of employees in the workplace, frequency of telecommuting, and the incidence rate of COVID-19 by prefecture.

Results

More women tended to perceive that their time of housework and/or childcare had been changed (increased housework: OR 1.92, 95% CI [1.71–2.16], P < .001; decreased workhours: 1.66 (1.25–2.19), P < .001: increased childcare: OR 1.58, 95% CI [1.29–1.92], P < .001; decreased childcare: 1.11 (0.62–2.00), P = .719).

Conclusions

The time spent by women on housework and childcare changed significantly compared to men during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

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  1. Version published to 10.1002/1348-9585.12339
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.07.29.21261306: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsIRB: 14 The protocol for the CORoNa Work Project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Statistical analyses were conducted using Stata/IC 14.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA).
    StataCorp
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    This study has several limitations. First, this study used a data set obtained from an online survey. Considering that the survey respondents were individuals who had access to the Internet and were interested in the survey, the results cannot be generalized. 23 Second, this study did not examine changes in the actual amount of time spent on housework and childcare because the questionnaire did not request that information. Third, the data did not contain detailed information about the respondents’ home situations. For example, it may be useful to examine the impact availability of close relatives, other family background information, and school status on changes in housework and childcare. Fourth, the survey did not obtain information about the employment status of a partner, which may impact housework and childcare. In conclusion, regardless of occupation, job type, and the number of employees in the workplace, the time spent by women on housework and childcare increased significantly compared to men, suggesting that the burden on women may be increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.07.29.21261306v1 on medRxiv