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

SOOLISED ERINEVUSED AJAKASUTUSES GENDER DIFFERENCES IN TIME USE
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN TIME USE
Marin Tasuja
Introduction
Time is one of the most important factors influencing everyday life. Unlike other human
resources, time is allocated equally between everyone. The time available in a day is always
limited to 24 hours, despite one’s income, education, marital status, sex or age. Even though
higher income and various technological innovations have enabled partial substitution of time by
money (Levinson and Kumar 1995), no one is able to buy more time. Due to this finite nature of
time, people are forced to choose between different activities and to find compromises in the
division of time in their individual and household schedules. Spending time on a specific activity
means less time for other activities. Even though the amount of available time is equal for
everyone, there can be a great variety between people in terms of how they use it and which
activities they prefer. One of such compromises concerns the distribution of employment and
household work between women and men. Throughout time, women have been linked
predominantly with home and household chores, while men have been regarded as responsible
for earning money and dealing with issues outside home (Wharton 2005). This article examines
how Estonian women and men spend their time and how employment and household work are
distributed between women and men.
A study on time use provides evidence of the structure of society and the relations between its
members. The time spent on different activities highlights people’s priorities and is a reflection of
their daily life (Glorieux and Koelet 2002). Time use characterises participation in the labour
market, consumer behaviour, recreational preferences and family relations, as well as changes in
household composition, state of welfare, and socially accepted beliefs in general. The time spent
on employment affects the size of income, which in turn determines the extent and structure of
possible expenditures and economic welfare of households. The higher the wages, the higher the
relative value of the time spent on employment. This increases the value of leisure time and
household work in comparison with employment, which leads to a decrease in the proportions of
such activities (Becker 1965). At the same time, a person with higher income can afford more
expensive leisure activities or buy some of household work as a service (e.g., by hiring a nanny
or housekeeper). In addition to direct financial benefits, the time spent on employment or studying
increases a person’s human capital, which influences future opportunities and income. The
greater the share of time spent on work in a day, the less time there is to enjoy the fruits of this
work and to rest (Fisher and Layte 2004). In addition to paid work, monitoring of time use can
also help to map any unpaid work at home, which can often go unnoticed.
In addition to direct financial benefits, time use also affects subjective welfare – availability and
quality of leisure time, sufficient sleeping hours, communication with others and self-realisation at
work are all important for people. Time use enables to create social capital – the time spent with
family and friends and other social relations are important for individual welfare, proper
functioning of households, providing a support system, and creating social values. The time use
of parents, division of work in a family and time spent with children – they all shape the values of
children and influence the use of time by them in the future.
Time use has become a potential source of tensions as a result of increased pace of life, wider
range of available choices, and growing ambiguity of social norms earlier recognised in the
society. Increased productivity has also increased the intensity of leisure time (Linder 1970: cit.
via McGinnity and Russell 2007) and people increasingly feel that there is not enough time for
everything (Bittman 2004). Gershuny (2005) has provided one possible explanation for the lack of
time by stating that, as a result of increased unemployment and other social changes, being busy
with work and having limited time for leisure has become a positive and privileged status in the
society. However, cumulative tensions and time stress can have a negative impact on a person’s
health, family and working life. Lack of time is a particular problem for families with small children,
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MEHE KODU ON MAAILM, NAISE MAAILM ON KODU? MAN’S HOME IS THE WORLD, WOMAN’S WORLD IS HER HOME?