Gender differences in the allocation of working time in the Spanish regions

Abstract

This study examines, from a regional perspective, the relationship between the patterns of time allocation to paid and domestic work within heterosexual couples and the socio-economic and institutional characteristics of regions. The hypothesis of this work is that, in regions with an institutional system characterized by generous social and family policies, greater participation of women in the labor market, greater wealth and higher educational level, the distribution of paid and domestic work between men and women is more egalitarian. Regarding domestic work, we distinguish between time devoted to housework and childcare. Using the 2009-2010 Spanish Time Use Survey, we applied Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis. We identified five groups of regions or patterns of time allocation between men and women. Heterogeneity among these patterns can be associated to regional differences in the economic, social and institutional settings.