Social and occupational consequences of the misalignment of work and school schedules

Last registered on January 28, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Social and occupational consequences of the misalignment of work and school schedules
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017780
Initial registration date
January 27, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 28, 2026, 7:57 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Jennifer Graves
Affiliation
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid / Autonoma University of Madrid
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-01-27
End date
2027-05-31
Keywords
Education, Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
gender gaps, gender norms, schools as childcare, time use
JEL code(s)
D13, I2, J13, J16, J22
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
While research has documented double standards by gender both within the work and home domains, no study to date has specifically estimated differential gendered societal views in precisely the situations where such demands interact. This study aims to quantify the social and financial consequences of choices when domestic and labor market demands collide. I will estimate whether there are differential judgments in paid and unpaid work by parental gender. This will be achieved through a survey experiment that presents a set of short vignette scenarios representing situations where a parent must “fail” at a parental duty to “succeed” at work and vice versa. I will then ask the respondent to evaluate the person described in the hypothetical scenario. The vignettes will randomly vary whether the parent in the scenario is identified as male or female to test for differential judgments of mothers versus fathers when they deviate from gender norms. This study aims to be the first to causally estimate these judgments by gender in common real-world scenarios where time constraints create conflicting work and domestic demands.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Graves, Jennifer. 2026. "Social and occupational consequences of the misalignment of work and school schedules." AEA RCT Registry. January 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17780-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This study will run a survey experiment that presents a set of short vignette scenarios representing situations where a parent must “fail” at a parental duty to “succeed” at work and vice versa. I will then ask the respondent to evaluate the person described in the hypothetical scenario. The vignettes will randomly vary whether the parent in the scenario is identified as male or female to test for differential judgments of mothers versus fathers.
Intervention Start Date
2026-01-27
Intervention End Date
2026-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Differences in judgements by gender of the parent, as well as heterogeneity by characteristics of the respondent.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study will use a survey company to run a survey experiment on a nationally representative sample of individuals aged 25-55 in Spain. Along with details on the individual, the survey will present a set of short vignette scenarios representing situations where a parent must “fail” at a parental duty to “succeed” at work and vice versa. I will then ask the respondent to evaluate the person described in the hypothetical scenario. The vignettes will randomly vary whether the parent in the scenario is identified as male or female to test for differential judgments of mothers versus fathers.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization will be done during the survey process on which vignette scenarios are seen, their order and the gender of the worker/parent in each scenario
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
None
Sample size: planned number of observations
We will carry out an initial smaller round collecting less than 1000 observations to help determine the desired sample size. The survey will intentionally be carried out over various collection rounds, capturing opinions during standard times when school is in session and running on a "normal" schedule.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Roughly 50% male and %50 female in sampling.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Comité de Ética de la Investigación, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Research Ethics Committee, Autónoma University of Madrid)
IRB Approval Date
2025-11-28
IRB Approval Number
CEI-150-3562
Analysis Plan