Stability and Change in German Parents’ Childcare Patterns Across Two Decades

Abstract

Abstract:Although German mothers’ labor force participation has increased in recent decades, German men’s participation in domestic labor has not increased proportionally. Thus, mothers still face a “double burden.” We analyzed the total time parents spent on childcare and on various particular activities, such as learning with children, playing with children, basic childcare, talking with children, managing children’s activities, and reading with children. We identified a very slow gender convergence in childcare patterns in Germany over the last two decades. However, as in other Western countries, German parents’ division of childcare remains unequal; mothers do much more routine care and spend more time overall on care than fathers.