According to the Economic Weekly of the Polish Economic Institute mothers in Poland are still double-burdened. The paper reports that if in 2019 71% of mothers with at least one child under the age of 15 worked professionally, in 2021, it hiked to 75%.
The same rate for fathers was 95% throughout the period from 2019 to 2021. These figures illustrate two things. Firstly, the employment rate of mothers is significantly lower than fathers’ one. Secondly, families with children care for by not working mothers are in the minority and constitute less than 1/3 of all families with children.
At the same time, it is women who take care of the home and children to a much greater extent than men. Recent CBOS research shows that care and upbringing duties were generally the domain of women. In most families, most of the household chores were performed solely by women (washing, ironing, preparing meals, cleaning, thorough cleaning, washing dishes), note the authors of the study.
Women also more often than their husbands or partners did their daily shopping and did official matters. Only throwing out garbage, commissioning services and carrying out minor repairs was the domain of men more often than their wives.
In the last few years, each year the number of women who received care allowance was more than twice as large as the number of men. In 2020, due to the pandemic, childcare leaves from work became more common.
Experts from the Polish Economic Institute believe that the pandemic has additionally intensified the burden of household and caring responsibilities on women. In a study conducted at the turn of 2020 and 2021, 68% of working women admitted that at that time they had more household chores (such as cleaning or cooking), and 56% of them say to have more general responsibilities related to the care of children. At the same time, in the vast majority of working women (86%), changes in the daily routine caused by the outbreak of the pandemic had a negative impact on their mental condition.
Adrian Andrzejewski order