Work-family Reconciliation among Quebec Mothers and Fathers during the Pandemic: Findings and Recommendations for Quebec

Research Framework: The health crisis resulted in difficult situations for many workers, but especially for parents, who had to reconcile their work and family activities while the children were at home. Objectives: The objective of this research is to compare the work-family reconciliation of Quebec fathers and mothers before and during the pandemic. Methodology: We use survey data collected from Quebec working parents in 2018, 2020 and 2021. Results: Our results lead to three observations: 1) the existence of gendered effects of the pandemic on Quebec workers 2) the role of employers in the reduction of work-family conflict, and 3) a certain ease reported in work-family reconciliation during a pandemic. Conclusions: The transition to telework has reduced time conflicts for many parents, and a larger proportion of them feel they have an easy work-family reconciliation in 2020 and 2021, than in 2018. Contribution: Our research makes it possible to formulate recommendations to improve the support offered to Quebec families in terms of work-family balance. © 2022 Centre - Urbanisation Culture Societe de l'INRS. All rights reserved.

Parenthood, work-family balance and the gender composition of the workforce in organizations during a pandemic: the case of Quebec

Quebec is recognized as the province whose family policy most closely resembles that of the Nordic countries, thanks to its generous parental benefits and low-cost childcare. In addition to state intervention, other mechanisms such as grandparent involvement and organizational support contribute to facilitate the work-family reconciliation. We examine this last mechanism by documenting the work-family reconciliation of mothers and fathers in Quebec on the basis of data analysis of two surveys conducted in 2020 with employees on the one hand and with employers on the other. First, we show that most parents report an "easy" reconciliation, even during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the perception of men and women regarding the organizational support offered by their employer does not vary significantly by gender. We then provide a portrait of the workfamily reconciliation measures offered in organizations that employ a majority of men, those that employ a majority of women, and those that are mixed. We show that organizations that employ a majority of men have a more negative perception of the effects of work-family reconciliation measures, while organizations with a majority of women have a more positive perception the effects of work-family reconciliation measures on employee retention and the attractiveness of the company in particular. We observe that the presence of a majority of women in a workplace corresponds to a more diversified supply of measures to support work-family reconciliation. The discussion highlights the links between Quebec's national context that values the symmetry of family roles, the way parents perceive their work-family reconciliation and the attitude of employers towards this issue.

Unpacking the Childcare and Education Policy Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from the Canadian Province of Quebec

Building from Blum and Dobrotic's conceptual framework, this paper shows that the decisions to reopen childcare centres and schools in the Canadian province of Quebec in 2020 were influenced by four goals: (1) protecting public health, (2) promoting academic success / fostering early education, (3) addressing social inequalities, and (4) helping parents to reconcile employment and care activities. Although the first three objectives were considered in the sequence of reopening, the government quickly chose to prioritize work-family reconciliation above other objectives. Quebec's tight sequence of reopening childcare centres and schools is not simply a consequence of evolving research showing lower risks associated with COVID-19 for young children, it also reflects the province's cultural norms toward mothers' employment and the high legitimacy of the state in subsidizing childcare.