In this project, we will investigate the consequences of the pandemic for children’s and young people’s conditions in which to grow up, for equality in families and for individuals, including children and adults with disabilities, as well as experiences on the internet.
The purpose is to provide new knowledge and recommend measures that can mitigate or reverse the negative effects of the pandemic.
The project has a budget of 24 million NOK and consists of 12 sub-studies. We plan to use several data sources and empirical designs in order to identify short- and long-term effects of the pandemic on upbringing conditions and gender equality. This will enable us to provide advice on measures that can mitigate or reverse negative consequences. The project is a collaboration between Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), Work Research Institute (AFI), Consumption Research Norway (SIFO), Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) and Institute for Social Research (ISF).
ISF will investigate the consequences of the corona pandemic for equality in working life and at home by dimensions such as gender, ethnicity, social background, disability, age, and other relevant dimensions. We will examine whether and how the corona pandemic has affected gender equality in working life, and whether this differs from other crises, such as the financial crisis and the oil price crisis. Among other things, we will look at the development in employment, working hours and wages for different groups. Furthermore, we will investigate the consequences of the pandemic for the distribution of care and housework in the family, and for the relationship between family and working life. In the analyses, we will use administrative register data, the Labour Force Survey conducted by Statistics Norway, and a population- representative survey designed for this specific project, with additional samples of people with disabilities, people with immigrant background and LGBT-people.
ISF will also investigate hate speech, harassment and racism during the corona pandemic. We look at the extent of harassing and hateful and racist comments among people with different minority backgrounds (disability, immigrant background, and LGBT) and among different socio-economic groups in the general population, and whether it has been an increase during the pandemic. Furthermore, we examine the consequences of such experiences for people’s emotional reactions, behavioural adaptations and mental health, and whether such experiences are linked to the pandemic. The analyses will be based on the population survey that we will carry out in the project (see above), as well as on a previous survey of the population’s experiences with hate speech and incitement.
Publications
Rogne, Adrian Farner; Wentzel, Mirjam & Østbakken, Kjersti Misje (2025) Everything Will Be Fine? Assessing the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Equality in the Labour Markett. Report 2025:5. Institute for Social Research. Full text in Research Archive
Hardoy, Inés & Schøne, Pål (2025). Parents’ labour market situation during the Covid period and outcomes for the children. Report 2025:3. Institute for Social Research. Full text in Research Archive
Teigen, Mari & Østbakken, Kjersti Misje (2024). The Resilience of Gender Equality: How Covid-19 was Gendered in Norway, The Routledge Companion to Gender and Covid-19. Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003267904-17.
Halrynjo, Sigtona & Kitterød, Ragni Hege (2023). Gender equality at home and at work before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Institute for Social Research. Full text in Research Archive
