The impact of COVID-19 in the allocation of time within couples. Evidence for Argentina

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown policies on gender gaps remains unclear. While some studies point to equalizing factors (domestic work becomes more visible, flexible remote work arrangements expand) others highlight the potentially inequitable effects associated to women increasing their already disproportionate burden regarding housework and childcare. This paper provides evidence for Argentina. Based on a novel survey, we track changes in time allocation patterns of couples, before and during lockdown. Our results indicate that on average men allocate more time to paid work and less time to unpaid work (housework, childcare, educational support) than women. These within-couple gender gaps suffered opposite changes during lockdown: while the former reduces, the latter increases. However, given the fact that changes in paid work may be driven by more external forces linked to the labor market while modifications in unpaid work allocation probably reflect results of bargaining processes within couples, the latter may probably have longer lasting consequences.