One fifth of women have said they feel pressure to quit their jobs due to the stress of the pandemic, a recent study has shown.
One in ten women have already quit their roles, according to the Irish Examiner, having tried to cope with the strain of managing work and home life amid ongoing restrictions.
The National Women's Council claim the impact of the pandemic has widened inequality, both at home and in the workplace, with the study also finding that in almost two thirds of families, the mother took full responsibility for homeschooling.
The research carried out by Maynooth University examined the current Level 5 lockdown, with results suggesting women left their jobs because they felt unable to continue working while homeschooling, according to the project's lead researcher, Dr Katriona O'Sullivan.
Division of work
In comparison, only 5 per cent of fathers said they felt pressure to leave their jobs due to homeschooling, and the same percentage of families said the father took full responsibility for doing schoolwork with children during the school closure. 23 per cent of families said homeschooling responsibility was shared by both parents.
The study found that while 71 per cent of fathers were confident their partner could support their child while homeschooling, the figure fell to 37 per cent when mothers were asked the same question.
Dr O'Sullivan said the impact of the pandemic in this regard could have "long-term consequences to the health of the family", adding if schools needed to close again, it should be done by ending the school term early.
"The cost to the family unit is much bigger than missing two months of trying to homeschool," Dr O'Sullivan said.
She added it was also "imperative" that changes in work practices do not further damage long-run women's labour market outcomes.
The research involved a survey of 438 parents, 306 of whom were women, and interviews with 25 families.
