Many people upset about @RishiSunak recognising disproportionate impact of school closures on mothers and not parents.

I see it as progress. Recognising unequal household labour dynamics visibilises it and is 1st step to gov creating gender sensitive policy

I understand the normative argument that homeschool/childcare should be shared equally, but the data convincingly show this isn’t the case (see @ONS @Gender_COVID19 + Cambridge study).

Referring to parents thus negates this data and household dynamics

Women absorbing load due to:
- gender pay gap (choosing parent who continues to work based on financial req of household)
- women more likely to be furloughed anyway due to sectors of employment (hospitality, retail)
- social gendered norms

Gendered norms harder to change, but @10DowningStreet @RishiSunak can do things to mitigate others:
- legal right to furlough for childcare shared between parents
- additional paid leave for parents
- financial support for families + esp single parents (like German kinderbonus)

Watch this space... papers on this coming soon, using data from across 2020...