Despite a gradual increase in fathers’ time with children and its positive effects on families, mothers continue to bear main responsibility for childcare, and fathers for breadwinning. This mixed-methods project seeks to identify routes and barriers to greater gender equality in the home. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, it investigates opposite-sex couples who share childcare equally or reverse roles so that the father is the main caregiver. The project compares these couples with traditional couples to explore the nature of their work and care arrangements and the effect of these arrangements on parents’ well-being and relationship satisfaction.

The Covid-19 pandemic posed significant operational and methodological challenges to the project. In this presentation we discuss the challenges we have faced and the measures we have put in place to overcome these challenges. We reflect on the lessons we learnt from the process and outline our plans for the future.


Dr Ruth Gaunt, School of Psychology

Dr Ana Jordan, School of Social and Political Sciences

Dr Anna Tarrant, School of Social and Political Sciences

Dr Mariana Pinho, Eleanor Glanville Centre

Dr Agata Wezyk, School of Psychology