Trabajo de grado - Maestría
The hidden cost: How childcare increased gender disparities in Colombia's labor market after the pandemic
Fecha
2023-06-02Registro en:
instname:Universidad de los Andes
reponame:Repositorio Institucional Séneca
Autor
Agudelo Torres, Natalia Alejandra
Institución
Resumen
This paper analyzes the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor
market in Colombia, with a focus on the effect of the closure of schools and care centers.
Using an event study approach, the research explores differences in pandemic effects on
labor market indicators between households with high childcare demand and those with
less and the differential effects on female and male household heads or spouses. Results
suggest that women in treated households experienced significant reductions in their labor
force participation rate until the first quarter of 2021, and increases in the hours dedicated to
childcare. Whereas men in the same type of household were not affected. The persistence
of these effects indicates that limited access to care centers and schools disproportionately
affected women, even within the most affected households. These results shed light on the
gendered impacts of the pandemic and the role of having a child in labor decisions and can
inform policies aimed at reducing the gender gap in the labor market in the face of economic
shocks.