What does the first COVID-19 lockdown teach us about gender inequality in the Netherlands?

Three Dutch universities did research focused on the effect of the first COVID-19 lockdown in the
spring of 2020. Their two main subjects where:
1. Closure of schools and childcare centers.
2. The division of household and care responsibilities among Dutch parents.
3. The well-being of parents during the lockdown.

The results show that the closing of schools and childcare in March and April had a significant impact
on parents and gender inequality between fathers and mothers. For mothers, the lockdown meant
less relaxation time and more household and care responsibilities. Nevertheless, a share of fathers
started taking on more household and care responsibilities during the first lockdown

In addition they investigated how Dutch men and women differ in their experiences of paid work, the
division of household and care responsibilities and well-being. Results showed that the share of
fathers that took on more childcare responsibilities increased, but that the share of fathers that took
on more household responsibilities decreased. Mothers continued to experience a high level of work
pressure, significantly higher than fathers, but in general, parents’ work-life balance improved slightly
in June compared to the situation in April 2020.

With the Netherlands in a new lockdown since 15 December 2020, the findings remain timely. What
can we learn from these data?