7 - Analysis of time use data – time allocation between women and men in Poland

Summary

Abstract

People spend time on paid work in the market, unpaid work for the household or community, as well as on leisure. In this regard, there is a clear differentiation between the sexes, because women do most of the unpaid work, while men are more involved in paid work. Economic theories explain this distinction in different ways – neoclassical theories point to the rational choice associated with the varying efficiency of women and men both in the labour market and in the household, while heterodox theories point to the influence of norms, social values and traditions, according to which the man is the breadwinner and the woman the caregiver. The following paper presents the allocation of time for men and women between paid and unpaid work. The time use data presented in the paper show that if you treat work extensively as paid work performed in the labour market or unpaid in the household, women work much longer than men. Women's workload, both unpaid and paid, requires some skill in order to combine these duties, which may translate into innovative solutions in this field.

Key words: time budgets, paid work, unpaid work, gender, Poland

Introduction

Time is an important factor affecting people's quality of life. People spend time on paid work in the market, unpaid work for the household or community, as well as on leisure. A crucial element in time allocation is unpaid work. Spending time on household duties does not give the worker monetary income, and it cannot be regarded as rest. In this regard, there is a clear differentiation between the sexes when it comes to the amount of time spent on unpaid work, which translates into the women's and men's opportunities.

This paper presents the allocation of time for men and women between paid and unpaid work, and free time. The paper presents a theoretical approach to the allocation of time between women and men in economic theories, both mainstream and heterodox. Analysis of actual time allocation in Poland is based on data obtained during the survey on time use conducted by the Central Statistical