School of Social and Political Sciences - Research Publications

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    Working and Caring at Home: Gender Differences in the Effects of Covid-19 on Paid and Unpaid Labor in Australia
    Craig, L ; Churchill, B (Informa UK Limited, 2020)
    The COVID-19 pandemic caused working from home to spike abruptly. This had implications for those with caring responsibilities, particularly women, who shoulder most unpaid domestic work. But what about men? This paper reports early results from a survey of Australian men and women, conducted during state-imposed lockdown in May 2020 (N=2772). Respondents were asked their average daily time in housework, household management, and care (active and supervisory), and about time pressure, spare time and satisfaction with balance of paid and unpaid labor, before and during the pandemic. Unpaid work rose significantly. Women still did most, but men’s childcare time increased more in relative terms, so average gender gaps narrowed. The relative gap in housework remained. For many, the lockdown generated lower subjective time pressure, but dissatisfaction with balance of paid and unpaid work rose markedly, and from a much higher base for women. Gender gaps in this measure remained wide.
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    Parenting Stress and the Use of Formal and Informal Child Care: Associations for Fathers and Mothers
    Craig, L ; Churchill, B (SAGE Publications, 2018)
    We investigated relationships between nonparental care and psychological strains of parenthood. Using data from employed parents of children below 5 years of age (n = 6,886 fathers and mothers) from Waves 4 to 11 of the household panel survey Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA), we constructed a parenting stress scale from the average of four items (α =.76) administered in the Self-Completion Questionnaire. We ran panel random-effects regression models testing associations between amount and type of nonparental care and parenting stress, for both mothers and fathers. We distinguished between formal care, informal and family care (mainly grandparents), and mixed care. Results showed that fathers and mothers’ parenting stress is positively associated with hours of nonparental care, but that for both genders parenting stress is significantly lower if the care is provided by informal/family carers.
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    Cross-spousal influences on mature-aged Australians' transitions in and out of employment 2001-2017
    Craig, L ; Churchill, B (SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2020-09-25)
    This article uses data from the longitudinal Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey to examine cross-spousal influences on workforce transitions by men (n = 4667) and women (n = 5051) aged 50–69. We assess how gender patterns in employment (full- and part-time work) and non-employment activity (unemployment, non-employment and homemaking) changed among this age group over the period 2001–2017, which included the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008. Notwithstanding that more men than women were in full-time work, and more women than men were employed part time or were homemakers, over the period there was an overall rise in employment for both genders, which following the GFC continued most strongly for women. Random effects logistic regression on partnered men and women showed that prior to the GFC one spouse transitioning out of the labour market was associated with significantly higher odds of the other spouse also doing so. This implies coordination, for example spouses retiring together. In contrast, following the GFC, one spouse leaving paid employment was associated with higher odds of the other taking up work or increasing their hours, suggesting that the economic slowdown encouraged an added worker effect in those households, with one spouse compensating for the job loss of the other. The finding was apparent for both men and women.
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    Youth, Recession, and Downward Gender Convergence: Young People’s Employment, Education, and Homemaking in Finland, Spain, Taiwan, and the United States 2000–2013
    Craig, L ; Churchill, B (Oxford University Press (OUP), 2019)
    Using data from the Luxembourg Income Study, we conduct a gender comparison of how young people aged 20–34 in Finland (n¼19,941), Spain (n¼29,458), Taiwan (n¼47,219), and the United States (n¼184,581) participated in full time work, short-hours or temporary work, education, and homemaking before and after the Great Recession (GR) beginning 2008. Gender and country patterns varied substantially. In Finland, the GR was associated with higher proportions of young women homemaking, perhaps due to public support for home care of children. In Spain and the United States, higher proportions of both young men and young women were un- or underemployed post-GR, suggesting downward gender convergence.
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    Labor Force Status, Transitions, and Mothers' and Fathers' Parenting Stress: Direct and Cross‐Spousal Influences
    Churchill, B ; Craig, J (Wiley, 2019)
    Objective: To investigate relationships between parenting stress and the labor force status and transitions of fathers and mothers, including cross‐spousal effects. Background: Parenting is a demanding role, which can be stressful depending on access to resources and support. Relationships between employment and parenting stress vary by class and gender, but little is known about the effect of transitions—short‐term changes—in labor force status. Method: Using nationally representative longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia Survey (n = 4,387 mothers and 4,033 fathers with children younger than age 17) and fixed effects modeling of data over 15 waves, the study examined relationships between parenting stress and mothers and fathers labor force status and transitions between full‐time work, part‐time work, and being out of the labor force. Results: Mothers report higher parenting stress when they are employed part‐time. For both mothers and fathers, having a nonemployed partner is associated with lower parenting stress, but a partner's transition to this status is associated with higher parenting stress. Conclusion: Both mothers and fathers find parenting stressful, and this can be compounded by their employment situation, especially for mothers. Cross‐spousal linkages are also important, notably that having a partner not in the labor force is associated with lower parenting stress for employed parents of both genders and is likely because care can be delegated to the home‐based parent.
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    Young people's daily activity in a globalized world: a cross-national comparison using time use data
    Craig, L ; Churchill, B ; van Tienoven, TP (Routledge Journals, Taylor and Francis, 2020)
    How much do young people’s daily activities differ according to where they live? As a global generation, young people are disproportionally subject to the risks and insecurity of globalization. However, countries differ in their support for young people’s inclusion through economic and social participation. Using time use surveys from Australia, Italy, Finland, France, Korea, Spain, the UK and the USA (n=23,271), this paper investigates national differences in the amount of time young people (20-34 years) spend on paid and unpaid work, study and leisure in each country. Gender gaps in market work and non-market work were widest in the Anglo and southern European countries. In France and Finland, gender differences in daily market and non-market activity were narrower. Young women spent more daily time in study than young men in all countries except Korea, where study time was highest. Young men and young women in social democratic Finland had more leisure time than young people elsewhere. Results suggest that young people’s experience of the consequences of globalization is not universal, but that nation-states remain relevant in determining their welfare.
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    Gendered and Generational Inequalities in the Gig Economy Era
    Churchill, B ; Ravn, S ; Craig, L ; Churchill, B (Sage Publications, 2019-12-02)
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    Gender in the gig economy: Men and women using digital platforms to secure work in Australia
    Churchill, B ; Craig, L (Sage Publications Ltd, 2019-12-01)
    This article explores the characteristics, experiences, and motivations of men and women who secure work through digital platforms. Drawing on quantitative survey data – the first of its kind – of Australian men (n = 251) and women (n = 253) it finds that the gig economy, much like the wider economy, is highly gender-segregated. Men dominate platforms which specialise in what might be considered traditionally male tasks like transport and women dominate platforms which specialise in more traditional female tasks like caring. The results suggest that the gig economy may be an alternative for women in the creative industries. Men and women are both drawn to the gig economy for income-related reasons, despite a significant proportion of them holding a job outside the gig economy. Flexibility was an important motivator for both genders, but women were more likely than men to report that they did gig work because it ‘fitted with their schedule’, indicating that non-work commitments such as family constrain women more than men. More men than women reported that gig work was effective in generating income.
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    Making pathways? A mixed methods analysis of young women who have left school early in ‘the new work order’
    Ravn, S ; Churchill, B (SAGE Publications, 2019)
    Much research has investigated how young women with tertiary education fare in contemporary labour markets and pointed to persistent gender inequalities. However, very little is known about how young women who leave school early fare in the present climate. In this article we shed light on the challenges facing these women in the ‘new work order’. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative methods, we investigate how young Australian women who have left school before completing upper secondary education fare, and how they make choices regarding education and work as they envision their futures. Our analyses reveal a perceived and real tension between education and ‘real’ experience in the labour market. This leaves young women without upper secondary qualifications in a difficult position when making decisions about their futures.