Mothers in Lockdown Due to COVID-19 in Mexico: Does Having a Paid Job Make a Difference?

Abstract

Worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had one thing in common between different countries: they highly affected family life in different ways. However, the way they affected women with young children has not been well studied. With the purpose of evaluating the experience of lockdown in Mexico in mothers with and without a paid job carried out at home, 220 Mexican women between 24 and 55 years of age, with one or more children under 15 years of age and who lived with their partner, answered online questionnaires. The results show that, although most of the domestic tasks were carried out by the mothers, the partners of those who had a paid job significantly collaborated more with them. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) were frequently used in both groups, but mothers working from home used them to a greater extent. For these mothers, work overload and confinement were among the main problems caused by the lockdown measures, while the economic situation was the main issue for the group with no paid jobs. Both groups considered family coexistence and the lack of the need to hurry as the advantages of lockdown. To face it, the participants mainly carried out coexistence and entertainment activities. To explain these differences between mothers with and without teleworking, new studies will need to be carried out.