Parental Disability and the Gender Gap in Parenting in Canada

Disability experiences of parents can profoundly impact the dynamics both within and beyond the family. In this paper, we examine how disabilities experienced by parents are associated with the gender gap in parenting time. Using a subsample of the 2022 time use data in Canada ( N  = 1773), we explore parenting time, the gender gap in parenting time, and how parenting time and the gender gap vary by disability of the parents. We find that parental disability is associated with smaller gender gaps in parenting. The largest gaps in parenting time exist for couples where neither parent reports a disability. The gap is the smallest in couples where both parents report a disability. We argue that the presence disability experiences among one or more of the parents are more likely to prompt domestic labor discussions than in households without disabilities. This recognition is likely to force parents to make changes that would not be needed if no disabilities were present.