In this study, we draw on interview data from 62 matched different-sex, dual-career spouses raising young children to examine the mechanisms behind the gender gap in household labor during the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that the pandemic represents a unique case of social uncertainty and an opportunity to observe how structural conditions shape the gendered division of household labor. We find that under the rapid social transformation imposed by the pandemic, gender serves as an anchor and orienting frame for couples with young children. We argue that the pandemic (1) expanded traditional gender expectations to new domains of household labor and (2) heightened the importance of gendered explanations for the division of labor that justified intra-couple inequality. Our findings suggest that the particular structural conditions that characterize different times of uncertainty work through slightly different mechanisms, yet produce the same outcome: gender inequality, with long-lasting and wide-ranging implications.

在这项研究中，我们利用来自 62 名匹配的不同性别、双职工配偶抚养幼儿的访谈数据来研究 COVID-19 大流行期间家务劳动中性别差距背后的机制。我们认为，这场大流行病代表了一个独特的社会不确定性案例，也是一个观察结构条件如何塑造家庭劳动性别分工的机会。我们发现，在大流行带来的快速社会转型下，性别成为有小孩的夫妇的锚点和定位框架。我们认为，这种流行病 (1) 将传统的性别期望扩大到了家庭劳动的新领域，并且 (2) 提高了性别解释对证明夫妻内部不平等合理的分工的重要性。