Time use study by gender in Europe, Spain and
Andalucia: gender distribution of paid and
unpaid work
2nd Global Forum on Gender Statistics
Ghana, 26-28/01/2009
Prof. Paula Rodríguez Modroño
University Pablo de Olavide
Member of the group of experts for gender
mainstreaming in the Andalusian
Statistical Plan 2007-2010
RESEARCH ON TUS for the Andalusian
Statistical Institute
Study on 15 EU countries that carried Eurostat
harmonized TUS in 2000-2004
to compare
the impact of different public policies and social
systems on gender equality & female strategies.
 Spanish and Andalusian case through microdata
(including demographic & socioeconomic
variables and all diary activities, also care work).
Topics covered:







Employment & care economy
Health & life cycle
Leisure
Education
Travel & transport
Gender gap between rural & urban areas
STARTING POINTS
Study the impact of
public welfare sytems
on gender equality
Time use studies
allow us to measure
unpaid work
(including domestic
activities)
Public policies have
different impacts on
female options
between paid &
unpaid work
Female strategies vary
by region depending
on the level of the
Welfare state, the
development of the
market economy and
income levels, and the
maintenance of
traditional roles.
Different gender
behaviors in labor
markets due to work
& life balance in all
countries
Threaten social
sustainability
• Low fertility rates
• Lack of autonomy:
part-time jobs, low
activity rates
• Import of legal/
illegal labor
SUMMARY OF EU RESULTS:



Women and men confront different constraints
and social determining factors that limit
rationality in their choices; and thus, their
freedom and capabilities.
Women have a lower amount of free time, what
undermines female capabilities, and thus their
potential to develop them.
As other studies show: “GENDER MATTERS”
more than other differences such as income
levels, education, employment rates, etc.
4 EU CLUSTERS:

There are time use differences between EU countries
due to different MIXED WELFARE ECONOMIES;
and therefore, a different distribution among the
State, families and the market of the necessary
work to sustain the socioeconomic system.

Variables used in this cluster analysis: fertility rates,
female activity rates, part-time work, education, female
political representation, working time (paid & unpaid),
etc.
1.
Social democrat countries (Norway & Sweden).
2.
Conservative group (Belgium, France & Germany) +
Finland & Great Britain.
3.
Former Eastern European countries
Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia).
4.
Mediterranean countries (Italy & Spain).
(Hungary,
TIME USE IN EUROPE, SPAIN AND ANDALUCIA
Working time of women and men aged 20 to 74 years. Unit: hours and minutes per day
(Left bar: women; Right bar: men)
9:36
Gainful w ork
8:24
Domestic w ork
7:12
6:00
4:48
3:36
2:24
1:12
0:00
Mean
BE
DE
BE Belgium
DE Germany
EE Estonia
ES Spain
FR France
UK
FR
EE
LV
L T
HU
IT Italy
LV Latvia
LT Lithuania
HU Hungary
PL Poland
Source: National Time Use Surveys (Eurostat & IEA).
PL
S I
F I
SI Slovenia
FI Finland
SE Sweden
UK United Kingdom
NO Norway
SE
NO
I T
AN Andalusia
ES
A N
TIME USE IN EUROPE, SPAIN AND ANDALUCIA
Work total of employed women and men. Unit: hours and minutes per day
(Left bar: women; Right bar: men)
10:48
Gainful w ork & study
9:36
Domestic w ork
8:24
7:12
6:00
4:48
3:36
2:24
1:12
0:00
Mean
BE
DE
UK
BE Belgium
DE Germany
EE Estonia
ES Spain
FR France
FR
EE
LV
LT
HU
PL
IT Italy
LV Latvia
LT Lithuania
HU Hungary
PL Poland
Source: National Time Use Surveys (Eurostat & IEA).
S I
F I
SE
SI Slovenia
FI Finland
SE Sweden
UK United Kingdom
NO Norway
NO
I T
ES
AN Andalusia
AN
TIME USE IN EUROPE, SPAIN AND ANDALUCIA
Gainful work/study and care work activities of women aged 20 to 74
Source: National Time Use Surveys (Eurostat & IEA).
TIME USE IN EUROPE, SPAIN AND ANDALUCIA
Gainful work/study and care work activities of men aged 20 to 74
Source: National Time Use Surveys (Eurostat & IEA).
ANDALUSIAN CASE: AN UNEQUAL AND
UNSUSTAINABLE SYSTEM
Women
Men
Paid work
Paid work
Unpaid
work
Unpaid
work
Unpaid work= Domestic activities (household care work)
+ volunteer work (informal & formal)
ANDALUSIAN CASE: UNPAID WORK
5:45
5:09
Women
Mujeres
4:48
4:46
Average social time in
domestic work per day
Hombres
Men
3:50
2:52
2:08
1:24
1:55
0:57
0:00
TMP
Average time of
those who
participate per
day
TMS
Monetary value of unpaid work
Women
Men
Salary per hour of domestic workers
9,01€
9,6€
Average social time hours per year
1.739,83
511
Monetary value of domestic work of an
average Andalusian person
15.676 €
4.906 €
CULTURAL CHANGES ARE SLOW:
YOUNG PEOPLE IN SPAIN



A continuity in traditional roles in time allocation
among young women and men. Despite the advances in
female human capital, labor market continues segregating
workers by their gender, even in the latest incorporation of
very educated young population.
Young women, even before having reached the age of
confronting the biggest problems in work & life balance (30
years old is the female average age of getting married &
having the first child), spend less time than men in paid
work and much more in non-paid work.
These gender roles will affect their life choices, including
their access to the labor market and female opportunities to
grow professionally and personally. For example, in
Andalucia when a man starts living in a couple reduces his
domestic working time whereas women have to increase it
considerably.
Participation rate in the following activities of young people under
25 in Spain
90
91
9 Travel & non-specified
86
84
8 Media
30
7 Hobbies & games
42
37
6 Sports & outdoor activities
43
5 Social life & entertainment
65
71
Women
Men
7
7
4 Volunteer work & meetings
3 Domestic work
81
53
2 Study
47
13
1 Employment
52
22
100
100
0 Personal care
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
%
Source: Spanish Time Use Survey, 2002-03 (IEA).
100
8,6%
Wom en 10-17 years
4,2%
3,2%
3,2%
6,8%
51,8%
0,3%
Average social
time allocation
by adolescents
from 10 to 17 years
in Spain
0 Personal care
5,4%
1 Employment
2 Study
3 Domestic w ork
4 Volunteer w ork & help
5 Social life & entertainment
6 Sports & outdoor activities
7 Hobbies & games
8 Media
9 Travel & unspecified time
16,5%
0,1%
8,2%
Men 10-17 years
4,7%
5,1%
5,1%
51,4%
5,9%
0 Personal care
0,6%
1 Employment
2 Study
2,5%
3 Domestic w ork
4 Volunteer w ork & help
5 Social life & entertainment
6 Sports & outdoor activities
7 Hobbies & games
8 Media
9 Travel & unspecified time
15,5%
1,0%
Changes in time use between adolescents (10 to 17) and young people
from 18 to 25 inSpain (units: minutes)
180
120
Men
Women
60
&
or
k
S
6
5
S
4
V
oc
ia
l
ol
un
lif
e
&
te
er
w
D
3
-120
he
lp
e
po
nt
er
rt
s
ta
&
in
m
ou
en
td
t
oo
ra
ct
7
iv
H
iti
ob
es
bi
es
&
ga
m
9
es
Tr
av
el
8
&
M
un
ed
sp
ia
ec
ifi
ed
tim
e
w
or
k
y
om
2
es
tic
S
tu
d
en
t
m
pl
oy
m
E
1
-60
0
P
er
so
n
al
ca
re
0
Source: Spanish Time Use Survey, 2002-03 (IEA).
CONCLUDING REMARKS





Main factor determining time use of EU citizens is: GENDER.
Women work more than men (work total = paid work + unpaid
work)
As more developed the society is, more equal is time allocation,
however this advance is still unequal.
Female strategies vary by region depending on the level of the
Welfare state, the development of the market economy and
income levels, and the maintenance of traditional roles.
Childcare and care of elderly or dependents is mainly a
female activity, affecting women’s decisions to have children
and to enter, stay or exit the labor market and the type of work
they get (full-time /part-time).
LESSONS FOR TUS STUDIES
 Need
for harmonized international TUS, so to
do cross-cutting studies and analyze the
impact of different public policies, as we do
not have much historical data for longitudinal
analysis.
 Periodical
TUS: to capture evolution and
cultural changes.
 Add
other socioeconomic variables &
indicators to be able to obtain a full view of
how socially unsustainable our economic
development is in terms of gender equity.
LESSONS FOR PUBLIC POLICIES
 Need to collect data and study all non-paid
work (domestic, informal, volunteer) to be
able to grasp real socio-economic systems.
 Need
to invest an important effort (collecting
information, budgets) in Gender equality and
women’s empowerment, so that we can really
reduce gender inequality.
 Key
role of education to change social norms
and traditional culture:


Male population
Young people
THANK YOU
prodmod@upo.es