Men work more than women, but are less involved in household chores

18/12/20150 views

In Belarus, working men spend 1 hour and 26 minutes more per day on average than women. Working women, in turn, spend 2 hours and 19 minutes longer on household chores. These figures were announced by Inna Konoshonok, Head of the Department of Living Standards Statistics and Household Surveys of the National Statistical Committee, at a roundtable meeting on "The Use of Daily Time Fund by the Population of the Republic of Belarus," as reported by a BELTA correspondent.

"Women's working day for paid employment starts slightly later than men's: at 8 a.m., 27% of men and 33% of women begin their work. When considering unpaid labour, i.e., time spent on household chores, the picture is reversed: at 8 a.m., 14% of women are engaged in this activity, and only 7% of men," noted the representative of Belstat. "Unpaid labour by women consistently dominates unpaid labour by men throughout the day, although this is not very noticeable in terms of paid employment. Furthermore, women's unpaid labour is more prolonged in the evening."

The population of the republic aged 10 years and older spends 3 hours and 46 minutes (or 16%) on work and related activities, 4 hours and 35 minutes (19%) on household chores, childcare, assisting relatives and friends, and education. Free time accounts for 4 hours and 36 minutes (19%).

The structure of the daily time fund differs between weekdays and weekends. Women and men spend different amounts of time on the same types of activities. The most significant discrepancies in time use between working women and men are observed in three groups: household chores and childcare, employment, and free time.

Thus, women devote more time to household chores and childcare (4 hours 36 minutes), leisure (4 hours 15 minutes per day), and work (3 hours 12 minutes). Men spend the most time on leisure (5 hours 6 minutes), followed by work (4 hours 38 minutes), and household chores and childcare (2 hours 17 minutes).

As the household survey showed, the population of the republic does not have a clearly established mealtime – meals are distributed throughout the day.

Sleep peaks during the night. Leisure time and watching television are also spread throughout the day, especially in the evening. At the same time, working women watch television slightly less than men. It is interesting to note that at 21:30, 33 out of 100 women and 40 out of 100 men watch television. This time is the peak for television viewing.

A round table discussion featured a presentation of the results of a sample household survey conducted by Belstat in 2015 with the support of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The survey involved 6,000 households (11,000 people) residing in all regions and Minsk. The survey results provided a detailed portrait of the social behaviour of men and women, adults and children, urban and rural residents, and examined value orientations and leisure time motivations for specific population groups and household types.

News of Belarus (BELTA)