Time use of paid and unpaid work of men and women: cantonal comparisons

Time use of paid and unpaid work of men and women: cantonal comparisons

This dissertation is part of the NRP60-project "Gender-specific inequalities in the working environment: political-institutional factors", funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, conducted at the University of Fribourg.

Abstract

Despite massive changes in the last decades, gender inequality in Switzerland remains high. Especially the division of paid and unpaid work between men and women, that is employment, household, and family work, merely changed. The largest proportion of household and family work is done by women, whereas men still devote most of their working time to paid work on the labour market. This more or less traditional division of work is thereby not altered by one of the highest labour force participation rates of women in Europe – they mostly work part-time. The classic male-breadwinner model of the 50’s modified to a one-and-a-half-earner model, in which women shoulder the care work. Research consequently speaks about women’s second shift.

This dissertation analyses these inequalities from different angles. The focus thereby is always on cantonal differences regarding the gendered division of work on the one hand, and on cantonal variation regarding influencing factors on the
other hand. Research identified various factors in the politics, economy, culture, and social structure as crucial regarding gender inequality. Due to the strong federalism in Switzerland, these macro-factors differ between the cantons, and can thus not be ignored. By means of multilevel analysis individual and cantonal variables and their influence on the time use for paid and unpaid work of men and women is analysed.