@TechReport{iza:izadps:dp18004,
            	author={Modestino, Alicia Sasser and Finn, Zachary and Ladge, Jamie and Lincoln, Alisa},
            	title={Childcare as Infrastructure: The Impact of COVID-19 on Childcare and Gender Equity},
            	year={2025},
	month={Jul},
            	institution={Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)},
            	address={Bonn},
            	type={IZA Discussion Paper},
            	number={18004},
            	url={https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18004},
	abstract={Conducting a nationally representative survey of 2,500 working parents between Mother's and Father's Day of 2020, we examine gender differences in the childcare shock during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on demographic, household, and labor market factors, we document gender differences in time use, work status, mental health, job satisfaction, and employer benefits. Using variation in pre-pandemic characteristics to measure exposure to the childcare shock, we find mothers in the more vulnerable group were 15 percentage points more likely to experience a reduction in hours due to childcare than similarly situated fathers. Although paid family leave helped narrow the gap in hours between mothers and fathers in the affected group, newer COVID-19 workplace practices such as working from home and childcare subsidies had no effect.},
	keywords={household decision-making;gender differences;childcare;paid
leave;COVID-19},
            }