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The Role of Children and Work-from-Home in Gender Labor Market Asymmetries: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin America

Author

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  • Marchionni Mariana
  • Berniell Inés
  • Gaspatini Leonardo
  • Viollaz Mariana

Abstract

Asymmetry in childcare responsibilities is one of the main reasons behind gender gaps in the labor market. In that context, the ability to work from home may alleviate the hindrances of women with children to participate in the labor market. We study these issues in Latin America, a region with wide gender gaps, in the framework of a major shock that severely affected employment: the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we estimate models of job loss exploiting micro data from the World Bank’ s high-frequency phone household surveys conducted immediately after the onset of the pandemic. We find that the mitigating effect of working from home on the severity of job losses was especially relevant for women with children. These effects were larger in countries/periods in which the containment measures implemented by governments against the spread of the disease were more stringent. The results are consistent with a plausible mechanism: due to the traditional distribution of childcare responsibilities within the household, women with children were more likely to stay home during school closures, and therefore the ability to work from home was crucial for them to keep their jobs.

Suggested Citation

  • Marchionni Mariana & Berniell Inés & Gaspatini Leonardo & Viollaz Mariana, 2022. "The Role of Children and Work-from-Home in Gender Labor Market Asymmetries: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin America," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4612, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    • Handle: RePEc:aep:anales:4612
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    2. Blázquez, Maite & Herrarte, Ainhoa & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2023. "Gender differences in the effect of teleworking on job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    3. Matías Ciaschi & Johanna Fajardo-Gonzalez & Mariana Viollaz, 2025. "Navigating educational disruptions: the gender divide in parental involvement and children’s learning outcomes," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1113-1132, September.
    4. Lara María Inés & Garbero María Noelia & Serio Monserrat, 2025. "Matrimonio, género y asignación del tiempo: cómo el estado conyugal moldea el uso del tiempo," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4813, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    5. Marchionni, Mariana & Pedrazzi, Julián, 2025. "The last hurdle? Unyielding motherhood effects in the context of declining gender inequality in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    6. Saudi‐Yulieth Enciso‐Alfaro & Salma Marhroub & Pedro‐José Martínez‐Córdoba & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2024. "The effect of COVID‐19 on employment: A bibliometric review of a she‐cession," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3444-3467, July.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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