Gender Differences in Parents’ Well-Being Reverse During Unemployment

Past research suggests that parenthood tends to predict well-being for men more than women. We propose that during involuntary unemployment, this pattern will reverse, such that parenthood will predict well-being for women more than men. Because breadwinning remains central to societal expectations of fatherhood, employment allows fathers to simultaneously fulfill parental and professional obligations. Typically, this reduces fathers' role strain. However, we argue that unemployment may threaten both work and parent identities for fathers and therefore undermine well-being for fathers more than mothers. We find support for this hypothesis using a large, longitudinal study of unemployed individuals (Study 1) and a nationally representative sample (Study 2). Finally, a follow-up experiment (Study 3) supports our prediction that fathers are more likely than mothers to view paid employment as necessary for good parenting, which predicts their lower well-being during unemployment. This work contributes to research on parenthood, gender roles, and unemployment.