The emerging gender inequalities and work–life balance disruption during the pandemic: A scoping review

Abstract

COVID-19 imposed a lockdown on all economic and social activities and contemporary organizations adapted to the challenge by shifting to a remote working model and individuals struggled for work–life balance. The purpose of this article is to systematically review the literature on work–life balance during a pandemic and comprehensively analyse the quality of work–life problems that are associated with it. Twenty-seven articles published between 2019 and 2021 were selected for review from Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) based on the research questions framed in the study. A four-step process suggested by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was used to perform the scoping literature review (SLR). The findings of the review highlight the emerging gender inequalities with a focus on how this phenomenon has evolved during a pandemic. The article makes an important contribution by reporting gender disparity concerning each gender issue related to work–life balance raised during COVID-19. The review also synthesizes the finding of previous studies by identifying the top contributing authors, most influential journals, and co-citation analysis and cluster analysis. Additionally, content analysis and cluster analysis based on multiple correspondence analyses were performed that confirm the two important clusters highlighting gender issues. We conclude the review by proposing various research directions.