Gender Heterogeneity in the Effect of Telework on Labor Market Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

With the massive COVID-19 lockdown, teleworkability, i.e., the feasibility of telework, plays an important role in determining whether workers can maintain productivity and keep their jobs. However, the impact of teleworkability is likely to be heterogeneous, varying by worker characteristics, such as gender and childcare constraints. This study examines the heterogeneous impact of teleworkability on labor market outcomes (including unemployment, work absence, and layoff). Using stay-at-home order as a measure of labor market disruption, we find that teleworkability offsets the increase in unemployment due to the disruption of COVID-19 by 20%, that in work absence by 28%, and that in layoff by 26%. Specifically, the positive effect of teleworkability is i) stronger for females than males; ii) stronger for females with kids than their male counterparts as well as those without kids. Our study contributes to the emerging literature on gender inequality by underscoring the nuanced impact of teleworkability.