ABSTRACT
Lambert et al describe the services given and received before and during lockdown, and the variations across ages and social categories drawing on data from the Colonel survey. The exchange of services is an integral part of neighborly sociability in France. Giving and receiving are asymmetrical, however, and unequally distributed across the population, as was shown by the first major survey on relations between neighbors in France. Social practices of this kind were not greatly affected by the lockdown, except for the provision of help to older adults and the decrease of help to families, as the Coconel survey reveals. The French are active in the exchange of services, but by no means equal.
ABSTRACT
Beyond its devastating consequences for public health, the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on gender inequalities, labour markets and families. Compared to many European countries, the French approach to lockdown was among the more stringent, although the measures taken by the French government to support employment, to some extent, mitigated the worst effects of the crisis on families. This article analyses the implications of COVID lockdown restrictions on gender equality and well-being for couples with children in France. The study adopted a multidimensional approach to gender inequalities associated with paid work and various dimensions of living conditions, involving gender-differentiated access to personal work spaces in the home, personal leisure time outside the home, and local support networks during the first phase of lockdown (March-June 2020). Drawing on data from the COCONEL survey, carried out by the Institut national d'études démographiques on a quota sample of the French adult population in April/May 2020, the authors controlled for variables including socio-economic status, age, family structure and place of residence. The survey data were complemented by a longitudinal set of in-depth interviews enabling the research team to capture the differential effects of the pandemic within couples. The main findings indicate that, despite the frequency of dual-employment arrangements for heterosexual couple households with dependent children, French mothers were nevertheless more likely to reduce their working time and/or withdraw from the labour market. Within the households surveyed, mothers were less likely than fathers to leave the home during the day, particularly for personal leisure activities. The presence of children in households increased gender inequality in both employment and living conditions across all socio-economic categories. In conclusion, the authors consider whether the pandemic might have a long-term impact on gender norms and inequalities within families, and how the findings about changes in gender inequalities could be used to inform public policy development.
ABSTRACT
Le confinement lié a la pandémie de covid-19 a entraíné l'arret du travail pour une partie des actifs et son réaménagement pour d'autres. La diffusion du télétravail n'a pas touché de façon égale les différentes professions. Et les conditions de vie des femmes et des hommes a la maison, comme celles des enfants, n'ont pas été affectées de la meme façon d'une catégorie sociale a l'autre, comme nous l'expliquent Anne Lambert et ses collegues en s'appuyant sur l'enquete Coconel. Avec la pandémie de covid-19 et l'entrée dans la récession, l'emploi s'est fortement rétracté en France : 30 % des actifs occupés le 1er mars 2020 sont a l'arret deux mois aprés. Mais la pandémie a également modifié les conditions de travail des Français, bouleversé l'usage du logement et renforcé les inégalités de sexe - au risque de se transformer en effets structurels sur le long terme. Ainsi, les cadres, qui ont plus souvent gardé leur emploi, ont massivement basculé en télétravail avec le confinement au contraire des autres catégories sociales. Pour les femmes, la crise sanitaire et désormais économique a nettement dégradé leur situation : elles ont plus souvent perdu leur emploi et leurs conditions de travail sont moins bonnes que celles des hommes. Si le télétravail recouvre des réalités differentes, il s'accompagne plus souvent d'une dégradation des liens avec les enfants.