Neo-Egalitarianism: The Domestic Strategies of Breadwinner Mothers During COVID-19

This study leverages the unsettled time of the COVID-19 pandemic to explore which strategies highly educated breadwinner mothers used to share domestic labor with their husbands. I compare semistructured interviews with mothers who became breadwinners after their husband’s job loss ( N = 13), and mothers who were breadwinners since before the pandemic ( N = 11). These groups revealed two variants of neo-egalitarianism , which describes seeking gender equality through disparate family roles. Mothers who became breadwinners described domestic gender equality as fluctuating over the marriage. Mothers who were breadwinners since before the pandemic expected one parent to specialize in paid labor, while the other specializes in primary caregiving throughout the marriage, but suggested that a man or a woman can assume either role. The strategies mothers use to achieve gender equality have expanded as maternal earnings have gained importance in the family.