Ongoing research

The Division of Labour and Female Partners’ Relative Pay Across Parenthood Phases

This study uses 13 waves (1996–2021) of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (N = 6,790 couples) to examine how transitions across four parenthood stages reshape couples’ paid and unpaid labour and affect women’s relative earnings. Fixed-effects regressions and bootstrapped mediation models reveal that the most dramatic changes occur during the transition to first parenthood, with women sharply reducing paid work and increasing unpaid work, while men’s adjustments are minimal. These inequalities partly persist across later stages, with additional children re-entrenching traditional arrangements.

Mapping Couples’ Daily Rhythms: A Multi-Channel Sequence Analysis of Time Use in UK Dual-Earner Households

Using the 2014–2015 UK Time Use Survey, this project applies multi-channel sequence analysis to examine couples’ daily activities and locations as interdependent systems. Instead of analysing partners separately, the study treats couples as coordinated temporal–spatial units, revealing how household labour division is enacted through aligned or divergent daily routines. This approach operationalises the “linked lives” principle in time-use research and provides new insights into the microstructure of gendered inequality in everyday life.

Patterns of Daily Time Use in Shaping Subjective Time Pressure Among Employed Parents and Non-Parents in the UK

Drawing on 4,440 diary days from the 2016–2023 UK Time Use Survey, this study identifies seven distinct daily time-use patterns for employed parents and non-parents through sequence analysis and clustering techniques. Mixed-effects models show that time-use patterns strongly predict subjective time pressure, but in ways that differ between parents and non-parents. Parents not only report higher levels of time pressure but also show greater variation, with intensive work or chaotic schedules particularly associated with stress.

Back to the Future: What the Office-First Era Reveals About Today’s Return-to-Office Implications

This project re-examines UK time-use data from 2014–2015, when working from home was rare, to explore how workplace location shaped couples’ paid and unpaid labour. It analyses spillover effects between partners and investigates how parenthood moderated these dynamics. By studying this “office-first” era, the research provides critical historical insights into what today’s return-to-office policies might mean for work–life balance and gender equality.