When Does Flexibility Matter? How Remote Work and Flextime Shape Gender Inequality

• In Event: 41012 - The Future of Work

Abstract

Recent years have seen a significant rise in remote work, but our understanding of its effect on gender inequality are mixed. This research draws on multiple data sources including the 2017-2018 American Time Use Survey Leave Module as well as surveys and in-depth interviews with both members of employed U.S. couples to examines the interplay between remote work and flextime in shaping gender inequality at home and work. While both remote work and flextime have been put forward as strategies for increasing gender equity, we propose that these policies may have unexpected interactions. Our preliminary analysis of the ATUS data show that, among 2,218 employed parents, flextime increases gender equity but remote work can reverse this effect. Access to flextime increases mothers’ time on paid work and decreases their housework time. Although access to both types of flexibility is most common among highly paid workers, the addition of remote work is associated with a more traditional division of labor than flextime alone: women who have access to both remote work and flextime are likely to work fewer hours and spend more time on housework, compared to those with only flextime. Remote work alone is associated with no benefits for men or women. An ongoing data collection effort involving a large-scale survey (N=1,000) and in-depth interviews (N=100) with both members of employed U.S. couples will examine the mechanisms underlying this pattern and the impact of remote work on women’s careers.

Authors

• Laura Adler, Yale University

• Emma Zang, Yale University

• Julia DiBenigno, Yale University