COVID-19 Lockdowns, Women's Employment, and the Motherhood Penalty: Evidence from the Philippines

Using labor force survey (LFS) data collected before and during the COVID-19 lockdowns in the Philippines, we show that hard lockdowns have a larger negative impact on the employment of women who have minor children compared to women who do not have minor children. Among Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines is among the hardest-hit by the pandemic, in terms of both the number of infected and its economic toll. A big reason for the relatively large negative economic toll of the pandemic on the country is the extreme and militarized lockdown imposed at the onset of the pandemic in the country's three most populous and economically-important regions, namely Metro Manila, CALABARZON, and Central Luzon. Using difference-in-differences on pooled LFS data, we show that female household heads or spouses with children were significanlty less likely to have work during the hard lockdown compared to female household heads or spouses without children, even after controlling for important covariates. Among women with children, the employment losses are larger the greater number of children a woman has, suggesting a lockdown-induced motherhood penalty in the labor market. A big part of the explanation is the increased care responsibilities disproportionately done by mothers during hard lockdowns, given that children are forced to be at home and to do distance learning. We contribute to the literature on the gendered effects of COVID-19 lockdowns in a developing country.