Gender Differences in Daily Time Use: Trends and Educational Differentials

Abstract Using time-diary data collected in 1999, 2009, and 2019, this study documents changes over the last two decades in gender differences in time use for five major daily activities—housework, work outside the home, family care, leisure, and self-care, among Korean mothers and fathers with at least one child aged ten to eighteen. Given the rapid expansion of higher education among women, which outpaces the corresponding expansion among men, trends in gender disparities in daily time use provide a litmus test to evaluate progress toward gender equality. In assessing temporal changes in gender disparities in time use, particular attention is paid to potentially heterogeneous trends across mothers and fathers with different levels of education. The trends in both overall and education-specific time allocations reveal some evidence of progress toward more equal time use between mothers and fathers. However, even in 2019 Korean mothers spent much more time on housework but considerably less time on work outside the home. Moreover, the progress toward gender parity in time use has not been even across levels of education: it has been more evident among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher than their counterparts with lower levels of education.