Time poverty and gender in urban sub-Saharan Africa: Long working days and long commutes in Ghana's Greater Accra Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This study uses a mixed-methods approach and primary data to consider how the length of the working day in Ghana's Greater Accra Metropolitan Area is shaped by time in paid and unpaid work and commuting. The analysis investigates gender differences in the length of the working day and the incidence of time poverty, and explores the relationship between long working days, long and arduous commutes and well-being. Women are found to be more time poor, and their longer hours of unpaid household caregiving and chores and more difficult commutes have consequences for their leisure time, family–life and health.