The coronavirus outbreak has changed the way many Americans work, and for employed parents, in particular, the pandemic has brought additional challenges as many schools and child care facilities remain closed.
Over the course of the pandemic, there has been an increase in the share of working parents who say it is difficult to handle child care responsibilities. At the same time, many working parents have experienced professional challenges while trying to balance their work and family responsibilities, according to a new analysis of a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2020.
Overall, about half of employed parents with children younger than 12 in the household (52%) say it has been difficult to handle child care responsibilities during the coronavirus outbreak, up from 38% who said this in March 2020.
Both working mothers and fathers with children younger than 12 are more likely than they were earlier in the pandemic to say it’s been difficult to handle child care responsibilities. But as was the case in March, larger shares of mothers than fathers say this (57% vs. 47%).
Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand the experiences of employed parents during the coronavirus outbreak and how those experiences may have changed since before the pandemic. This analysis is based on 2,029 U.S. adults who have children younger than 18, are working part time or full time, and either have one job or have…
