Female Telework During the Pandemic. An Analysis of the U.S. Labor Market

Abstract

This paper analyses the evolution of female teleworking (TT) in the United States (US) during the pandemic caused by the Sars-CoV-2 virus. The aim is to identify the teleworking patterns of US women by
answering the following research question: To what extent did female telework differ from male telework in the US during the pandemic? Examining monthly employment data obtained from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey (CPS), significant differences in the proportion of
women working from home during the pandemic were identified. The results showed that the health
crisis accelerated the adoption of tt in the US, especially among women, due to two factors: 1) addressing the spread of the pandemic, and 2) facilitating remote employment. This study makes an original
contribution by examining the effect of the pandemic on tt adoption from a gender perspective. Evidence suggests that tt was short-lived in the US, although younger women were more likely to work
remotely compared to their older female colleagues.