Women working 39 minutes longer each day than men

WOMEN ARE joining the workforce in unprecedented numbers, but that does not mean they are escaping work in the home.

A new survey published today shows that women on average work about 39 minutes longer per day, when both unpaid and paid work are taken into account.

The report, published jointly by the ESRI and the Equality Authority, shows the disparity between genders is most pronounced in childcare.

Employed women spend an average of two hours and 47 minutes on minding children each day, compared with just 40 minutes daily by employed men.

The report analyses time diaries from just over 1,000 men and women, aged 18 to 97, from the Irish National Time Use Survey 2005.

It is the first systematic study of gender differences in unpaid work among all adults in Ireland. While it concludes that the total workload of women is higher than men, it identifies major differences in the manner in which people work.

On average, men spend 4 hours 40 minutes on paid work per day and just under 2 hours on unpaid work per day. On average, women spend just over 5 hours per day on housework and caring and just over 2 hours per day on paid work.

Women's participation in the paid labour force increased from just under 40 per cent in 1993 to 60 per cent in 2004. Yet the report said Ireland still had a relatively traditional gender division of labour, with "a very high proportion of male-breadwinner couples" compared to other EU countries.

Women spend more time on domestic activities like cleaning and cooking, while men tend to do house repairs and gardening.

Women spend more time on the physical care and supervision of children, while men spend a much greater proportion of their time on "social childcare" such as playing.

Niall Crowley, chief executive Officer of the Equality Authority, said: "Public policy needs to be supportive of gender equality in the domestic sphere if we are to achieve full equality.

"Statutory leave entitlements, for example, should be reviewed to ensure they are supportive of gender equality in the domestic sphere.

"Paternity leave [is] required to enhance the role of men in caring and household work. The take up by men of flexible working arrangements needs to be promoted . . . in particular in male-dominated workplaces. State support to increase the availability of affordable childcare is required."