August 2020

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This briefing looks at how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting parents. The briefing is published jointly with Women's Budget Group, Queen Mary University of London and the London School of Economics.

It sets out the experiences of parents at the height of lockdown. It comprises analysis of data from a survey of 1,424 parents of under-11s conducted in mid-April, and qualitative data from weekly diaries shared with Fawcett by 70 to 100 women each week.

Key findings include:

• Mothers in couples were over one-and-a-half times more likely than fathers to say that they were doing the majority of childcare during school and nurseries closures.
• 61.6% of single mothers in our sample said they had struggled to go to the shops due to their children being at home, compared with 39.1% of couple fathers.
• Anxiety levels are greater among mothers in our sample, with 44% compared with 33% of fathers reporting high anxiety.

We explore some of the implications of these findings for Government policy, including support for mothers to remain in work, changes to lockdown policy, and support for parents’ financial wellbeing and mental health.

Download the full briefing

Download the full briefing (accessible version)

Photo by Tanaphong Toochinda on Unsplash