Men and Women's Different Dreams on the Future of the Gendered Division of Paid Work and Household Work after COVID-19 in South Korea

Abstract

Men's long hours of paid work and minimal commitment to household work, combined with the comparably low-level of women's labor force participation, characterize the gendered division of work and family in South Korea. Can the changes in work and family arrangements brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic alter the persevering gendered division of paid work and household work in Korea? Along with school closures and the increased number of employees working from home during COVID-19, do Korean men and women anticipate more equal sharing of paid work and household work? We collected data from 1000 Korean adults during the period of July 3–6, 2020, and asked their predictions about various dimensions of social changes, including the gendered division, after COVID-19. Although a substantial share of both men and women anticipate a reduction in the gendered division of paid work and household work after COVID-19, Korean women are not as optimistic as their male counterparts about this potential reduction. In particular, younger women are most skeptical about the prospect that paid work and household work will be less divided by gender beyond the pandemic.