Work-Family Conciliation of Women Doing Telework

as a Consequence of Sanitary Contingency Caused by COVID-19

Abstract

This article presents the results of a mixed study with qualitative emphasis, which deepened, from a gender perspective, the experience of the work-family relationship
in Chilean women who were teleworking due to the health
measures adopted in relation with COVID-19. A methodology in stages starts with the application of an online questionnaire (N=1145), which was refined through an open questionnaire (N=98), ending with in-depth interviews to 16 women of the same group. The results show that remote work from home has meant, especially for women, adaptations of both, the family circle and the occupational field, since both come together at the same
time and place. Based on the perceptions and experiences reported by women, it is argued that the patriarchal roles that designate women as those responsible for the private sphere are still present, which include caregiving, the carrying out of domestic tasks, assumption of responsibilities, and the organization in the reproduction of the family space, including in the pandemic situation, the direct supervision of the formal education of children. In relation to the modifications made after the implementation of telework, changes are perceived in family routines, physical spaces, and forms of co-responsibility.