Time Dedicated to Unpaid Housework and Caregiving in Costa Rica: Does Greater Household Income Imply a More Equal Gender Distribution?

Catherine Mata, Marya Hillesland, Leanne Roncolato

Using Costa Rica’s annual nationally representative household survey, Encuesta Nacional de Hogares (ENAHO), this study explores how household income and poverty are associated with gender differences in time spent on unpaid housework and caregiving in Costa Rica, 2011- 2014. We find a considerable difference in men’s and women’s average time spent in unpaid work, with women dedicating considerably more time. While women's time in unpaid work is weakly linked to household income, men exhibit a stronger negative association between income and unpaid work, albeit with minimal differences in magnitude across income brackets. When individual and household characteristics are considered, men’s and women's estimated time allocation remains relatively consistent across the income distribution, suggesting insensitivity to variations in income or poverty status. Gender disparities persist regardless of income quintiles, poverty levels, age, and household structures. These findings underscore the stark contrast in time allocation between genders, emphasizing the need for further examination of societal norms and structural factors shaping unpaid labor dynamics.

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Measuring Time Devoted to Supervisory Care: a Cognitive Study

Araceli Damián-González, Nancy Folbre, Cecilia Tinonin

The provision of unpaid care meets fundamental needs of present and future generations alike. A number of nationally-representative time use surveys, including many conducted in Latin America, look beyond reports of time devoted to specific activities to ask respondents about responsibilities for remaining vigilant and physically available to assist young children and /or adults experiencing illness or disability even if not providing active care. Such supervisory care imposes significant constraints on women in particular, but is difficult to accurately measure. The qualitative research reported here, based on intensive interviews conducted with a small group of family care providers in Mexico City, helps explain why respondents often misunderstand questions regarding time devoted to the care of dependents. This misunderstanding has repercussions for reported time in supervisory care, which is usually underreported or omitted in time-use measurement. The paper also offers specific recommendations for improved survey design. Accurate data on supervisory care can inform public policies to broaden the spectrum of public and private services.

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Bringing It All Back Home. Social Class and Educational Stratification of Childcare in Britain, 1961-2015. Online Appendix

Giacomo Vagni

Appendix for Giacomo Vagni (2023) Bringing It All Back Home. Social Class and Educational Stratification of Childcare in Britain, 1961-2015, Journal of Time Use Research, 10.32797/jtur-2023-3

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Bringing It All Back Home. Social Class and Educational Stratification of Childcare in Britain, 1961-2015

Giacomo Vagni

Childcare is one of the foundations of human development. An unequal distribution of childcare is an unequal distribution of life chances. This paper investigates the social stratification of parental childcare in the United Kingdom, focusing on class and education, from 1961 to 2015. The study shows that both mothers and fathers have increased their time spent on childcare, with a significant uptick between 1974 and 1983. I find a growing gap in childcare time between mothers with and those without a higher education degree. Regarding social class, the gap in childcare time between professional-class and working-class households has remained relatively constant throughout the period. The paper also explores fathers' involvement in childcare and shows that their childcare time is less stratified compared to mothers. The article discusses the potential mechanisms that could explain the polarisation of childcare in the UK.

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