Women’s stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany and the Netherlands : a longitudinal perspective on the role of part-time employment and parenthood for different educational groups

Abstract

This study longitudinally investigates women’s levels of perceived stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany and the Netherlands, in relation to work- and family stressors. It further examines the moderating role of education as a protective factor against stress. Our country cases represent similar pre-pandemic gender regimes that extensively relied on women’s part-time work but exhibited variation in pandemic governance. Drawing on longitudinal data from population-based samples, we estimate random effects panel models across three time points (pre-pandemic, during or shortly after first lockdown, later stage of the pandemic). For the Netherlands, we find that women initially experienced an increase in stress but later recovered. In Germany, stress initially decreased, but only for women without children. Multivariate models show that working fewer hours protected women against stress in Germany, particularly those with higher education. In the Netherlands, no such moderation effects were found. Instead, in the Netherlands, differences between educational groups were larger than differences between women with varying working hours. These results are discussed in light of country differences in pandemic governance.