Pandemic and Work from Home: Space Negotiations of Working Women During the COVID-19 Lockdown
摘要
The COVID-19COVID-19 lockdown in India normalized the practice of working from homeHome, which led to the renegotiation of homeHome spaceSpace on a huge scale. The present study focuses on the plight of working womenWomen due to working from homeHome during the lockdown phase and the changing spaceSpace negotiations at their homesHome and their resultant impact. The study used primary data, which were collected through Google Forms comprising a set of semi-structured questions. The authors resorted to emailing the questionnaires in Google Forms to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's (MMR) working womenWomen who were known to them. These working womenWomen were also requested to share the questionnaire with their colleagues. A total of 40 working womenWomen responded to the survey. The data thus collected were processed and analyzed to derive the findings. For analyzing the data quantitatively, descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used, and for analyzing the data qualitatively, experiences shared by the respondents were analyzed to derive the relevant narratives. Additionally, relevant literature was also reviewed to support the study’s findings. The study reveals the overlapping of spaceSpace, conflicts over spaceSpace sharing, as well as the gendered nature and unequal character of the homeHome spaceSpace that are confronting the working womenWomen of the study area. The study concludes by emphasizing the need for establishing the norms of gender equalityGender equality both at homeHome and at the place of work for an ideal work ambiance, which will add to work productivity, thereby contributing positively to economic and social developmentDevelopment.