Remote work: towards greater gender equality in the family sphere?

Abstract

Suddenly and compulsorily practiced full-time between March and May 2020, telecommuting is taking root in companies in hybrid mode. Its obligation
ends on February 2, 2022.

Working from home has disrupted intra-family organization, contributed to increased workloads and situations of stress or isolation. Employees have been
confronted with the need to organize family life and professional duties within the same space. Several studies have shown that this is done under unequal
conditions, depending on where the household lives and its social position, as well as on gender (COCONEL study, 2020). A report by the French Senate
(October 2021) evokes a wide range of possibilities offered to employees and questions remote working. Our work aims to demonstrate the influence of telecommuting on the possible emergence of gender inequalities through changes in home working conditions and the assumption of domestic and family tasks. The empirical part is based on a quantitative study conducted between February 3 and March 3, 2022, among 211 employees working from home.

We mobilize the literature on remote working and gender inequalities in this context.

The ambivalent results reveal that women are disadvantaged in the professional sphere, but not in the family sphere, by working from home. Men, on the other hand, were more likely to benefit from opportunities for advancement within the organization but get more involved in family tasks. Remote working could help to rebalance the division of labour in favour of gender equality.