MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? - Tartu Ülikool

SOOLISED ERINEVUSED AJAKASUTUSES GENDER DIFFERENCES IN TIME USE
employment. The decrease in the length of household work for each minute of paid work is
greater for women than it is for men.
The results regarding weekends are quite similar. Assuming that other parameters remain
unchanged, women spend 78 minutes more than men on household tasks. The time spent by
men on household care is influenced by the presence of children of pre-school age more at
weekends than on workdays. Such a result could be expected, because a half of the time spent
by men on childcare is spent on social childcare, which is more important at weekends. Every
additional minute spent on employment reduces the time spent on household chores by
0.3 minutes. This correlation is stronger in case of women. However, the time spent on
employment is shorter at weekends and equals zero for the majority of people. (Table 2)
Summary
People’s time use differs by sex at each stage of life. Women spend less time than men on
employment and more time on household and family care. As employment and household work
are still assigned different values, such specialisation creates social and financial consequences
for women. Women pay a price for that in their wages and in available leisure time. Women tend
to have less unoccupied time than men. Even though the gender gap with regard to paid and
unpaid work has decreased over the last ten years, differences in the total committed time have
remained unchanged. Considering the time spent on employment and household care, women’s
total commited time in a day is almost an hour longer than that of men of similar age, labour
status, education and other parameters. In addition, time use is influenced by labour status as
well as by the existence and age of children. Children’s age is especially influential on women’s
total working time and, in particular, the time spent on household and family care – younger
children mean longer working days for women. Women perform more household tasks than men,
even if the amount of time spent on employment is equal. However, the more time people spend
on employment, the less time they have available for household work. One hour of paid work
reduces the time spent on household chores by 18 minutes. The impact of employment on the
time spent on household care is greater in the case of women.
The amount and division of household tasks can be influenced by various employment policies,
such as regulation of working hours or establishment of the length of parental leave and the rules
for granting such leave. If men spend less time on employment, this results in a more even
division of household tasks (McGinnity and Russell 2008). Long periods of time spent on
employment prevent men from being more involved in childcare and household chores.
Measures to achieve greater gender equality at home include, for instance, paid parental leave
and paternity leave as well as more flexible working arrangements in ‘males’ occupations’.
Provision of childcare services by the state may not have a direct impact on inequality in
household work, but it offers women a greater range of options and enables them to spend more
time on employment. It is also likely to reduce the amount of time spent by women on household
tasks. Consequently, strategies that contribute to equality in employment can also reduce
inequality in home life. Reduction of inequality in the time use of women and men is necessary to
change social attitudes to and views on the gender norms and valuation of unpaid work.
MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? MAN’S HOME IS THE WORLD, WOMAN’S WORLD IS HER HOME? 35