Married Parents’ Time Use at Home, at Play, and with Children: Variations by Labor Force Status Ariel Kalil, Ph.D. and Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest, Ph.D. Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago Study Aims Examine the associations between labor force status and time in household activities, leisure, and care of household children for married mothers and married fathers. Background Why do women and men spend differing amounts of time on household activities or caring for children? Hypotheses Gender-role ideology: Men and women are socialized to perform sex-typed tasks Time availability: Spouse with the most available time will perform greatest number of tasks Bargaining: Greater the individual’s economic resources, more leverage in opting out of tasks Specialization: The spouse with lower earnings will specialize in home production to promote household efficiency MethodsTime in Female-Typed Tasks Additional Comparisons Dependent Variables Time spent: Minutes per day Sleep Female-Typed Tasks: Cooking & cleaning Male-Typed Tasks: Repair & maintenance Leisure: Socializing, relaxing, sports, & recreation Children: Care, play, education, & health Independent Variables Respondent characteristics including own labor force status, age, race, and education Spouse employment status Household characteristics including income, number of minor children, and age of youngest child Time study characteristics including weekend, holiday, and survey year indicators Statistical Model Tobit Regression (Accounts for censoring at zero) Descriptive Statistics: Spouse Employment 65% of fathers who work are married to women who work 90% of mothers who work are married to men who work Data and Sample American Time Use Survey 2003 and 2004 Married respondents who are not retired or disabled with children in the household 10,194 parents (60% from 2003 Survey) Includes 4,805 Fathers and 5,389 Mothers Father Employment Status 92% Employed 3% Unemployed 4% OLF Mother Employment Status 43% Full time 24% Part time 4% Unemployed 30% OLF Time in Sleep Note: * indicates different from mother full time at p <.05 Time in Male-Typed Tasks Note: * indicates different from mother full time at p <.05 Time in Leisure Time with Children Note: * indicates different from mother full time at p <.05 * * * * * * * * * * * Sleep: Employed fathers spend less time sleeping than all mothers. Unemployed fathers spend marginally more time sleeping than mothers who work full-time. Average number of father (mother) minutes is 486 (501) Female-Typed Tasks: Fathers spend less time than mothers in female-typed tasks regardless of labor force status. Average number of father (mother) minutes is 31 (138) Male-Typed Tasks: Fathers spend more time than mothers in male-typed tasks, regardless of labor force status. Average number of father (mother) minutes is 39 (15) Leisure: Fathers spend more time than mothers in leisure, regardless of labor force status. Average number of father (mother) minutes is 235 (211) Children: Fathers spend less time than mothers with children (except full-time employed mothers), regardless of labor force status. Average number of father (mother) minutes is 50 (105) * * * * * * * ** * * * * *