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Abstract

Housework is a significant part of our daily lives. In this visualization, the authors consider how time spent on housework varies across gender and age throughout the day. Using the nationally representative 2015 Canadian General Social Survey with detailed time diary information, the authors present how women’s and men’s time allocation patterns on housework vary across age groups. The visualization shows that women and older Canadians engaged more in housework. A clear pattern reveals higher engagement during mealtimes, while participation becomes more evenly distributed throughout the day among older adults compared with younger women and men.

Keywords

time use housework gender inequality aging Canada

Temporal patterns of housework division throughout the day provide crucial insights into the gendered dynamics of household labor. However, previous research has largely overlooked the temporal aspects of housework and has focused primarily on measuring inequalities in overall time, leaving a gap in our understanding of the specific distribution of housework participation throughout the day (Schulz 2021).

In addition to the well-established gendered character of housework time allocation (Bianchi et al. 2012), this study connects the time-use and life-course literature by analyzing age-related patterns. Our visualization addresses two primary research questions: (1) How do women and men allocate their time to household tasks throughout the day? and (2) How does age contribute to variations in these time-use patterns on housework?

We use data from the 2015 Canadian General Social Survey, Cycle 29: Time Use, which collects time-use diaries of noninstitutionalized Canadians 15 years of age and older, to investigate temporal patterns of housework participation by gender and age.

Persistent Gender Inequality in Housework Participation

The data visualization highlights the enduring influence of gender norms and societal structures on the division of housework. Across all age groups in Canada, there was a persistent gender disparity in housework participation. Specifically, approximately 10 percent more women participate in housework compared with men. This finding aligns with previous studies that have consistently documented gender inequalities in housework, emphasizing the disproportionate burden shouldered by women (Treas and Tai 2016).

Participation in Housework Increases with Age

In our data visualization, a compelling pattern emerges, revealing the need to consider age as a critical factor when examining participation in housework. Figure 1 shows that as individuals age, there is a significant increase in the percentage of both men and women engaging in housework. A greater proportion of those aged 55 and above engaged in household tasks than younger age groups. One plausible explanation for this trend is the increased availability of time among older individuals closer to and after retirement, coupled with a potentially reduced number of work-related commitments (Sayer and Gornick 2009). As individuals transition into older age groups, they may have more discretionary time, which can be directed toward household chores.

Figure 1.

Daily time-use pattern on housework in Canada by gender and age groups.

Shifts in Housework Patterns with Age

This data visualization also reveals a higher proportion of individuals engaging in housework during mealtimes, particularly at 12 pm and 6 pm. This observation emphasizes the significance of shared responsibilities in meal preparation among Canadian women and men.

Furthermore, Figure 1 highlights a notable shift in housework patterns with age. Among older Canadians, there is a higher occurrence of housework participation during lunchtime compared with dinner time. Interestingly, a narrowing gap between the two peaks of housework participation over different age groups is evident. As individuals grow older, the distribution of individuals engaging in housework becomes more evenly spread throughout the day. This finding suggests that older individuals exhibit greater flexibility in their engagement with housework tasks than younger age groups and are able to allocate their efforts across different periods of the day, adapting to their individual needs and preferences.

Our study pushes forward the understanding of housework participation from the daily time-use perspective, emphasizing age and gender as crucial factors. Interventions and policies are needed to address gender disparities and promote equitable distribution of housework responsibilities. Recognizing evolving patterns with age informs discussions on changing needs and preferences throughout life stages and better supports policy and commercial decisions targeted at different populations.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-srd-10.1177_23780231241257345 – Supplemental material for Visualizing Daily Time Use on Housework in Canada: Persistence and Patterns

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-srd-10.1177_23780231241257345 for Visualizing Daily Time Use on Housework in Canada: Persistence and Patterns by Kamila Kolpashnikova, Zilin Li and Amélie Quesnel-Vallée in Socius

Footnotes

Correction (August 2024):

This article has been updated with missing funder information (see 10.1177/23780231241264158 for more details).

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: SSHRC Insight Grant (435-2023-1060, PI: Kolpashnikova) and funding from the Partnership Grant Program of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the Consortium on Analytics for Data-Driven Decision-Making (CAnD3) (#895-2020-1013; PI: Amélie Quesnel-Vallée).

ORCID iDs

Zilin Li

Amélie Quesnel-Vallée

Supplemental Material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

Author Biographies

Kamila Kolpashnikova is an Assistant Professor at Western University, Canada. She is a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellow at the University of Oxford (2019-2022). Dr. Kolpashnikova holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of British Columbia and an M.A. in Socio-informatics (Social Data Science) from Tokyo University. The main research interests are time use, gender and housework, North American and East Asian societies. Dr. Kolpashnikova is a former recipient of the Japanese Government Monbukagakusho Scholarship at Tokyo University (2006-2011), the Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to Japan (2004-2005), the Taiwan Fellowship (2018), and a visiting scholar at the Centre for Time Use Research, Oxford University (2015).

Zilin Li is a post-doctoral researcher in the Consortium on Analytics for Data-Driven Decision-Making at McGill University. She received her Ph.D. in Public Policy from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and her M.A. in Social Policy from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Dr. Li’s research interests primarily revolve around long-term care provision, healthcare reform, and social policy topics related to population aging. She has extensive research experience in welfare attitudes, long-term care provision, and healthcare reforms. Her most recent research focuses on identifying factors contributing to health inequalities among informal caregivers.

Amélie Quesnel-Vallée holds the Canada Research Chair in Policies and Health Inequalities at McGill University, where she is inaugural chair and professor in the Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, as well as a professor in the Department of Sociology. She leads CAnD3 (), an international consortium of 38 academic, government, private, and nonprofit organizations delivering training in support of data-driven decision making in aging societies. Her research examines the contribution of policies to social inequalities in health over the life course. It has appeared in journals such as The Lancet, the International Journal of Epidemiology, and Social Science & Medicine and has been recognized through awards from the Fulbright Foundation, the American Sociological Association, and the Population Association of America. She has served as president of the International Sociological Association Research Committee on the Sociology of Health (2014–2018) and of the Canadian Population Society (2022–2024).

References

Bianchi

Suzanne M.

Sayer

Liana C.

Milkie

Melissa A.

Robinson

John P.

2012. “Housework: Who Did, Does or Will Do It, and How Much Does It Matter?” Social Forces 91(1):55–63.

Sayer

Liana C.

Gornick

Janet C.

2009. “Older Adults: International Differences in Housework and Leisure.” Social Indicators Research 93(1):215–18.

Schulz

Florian

. 2021. “Mothers’, Fathers’ and Siblings’ Housework Time within Family Households.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 83(3):803–19.

Treas

Judith

Tai

Tsuio

. 2016. “Gender Inequality in Housework across 20 European Nations: Lessons from Gender Stratification Theories.” Sex Roles 74(11–12):495–511.

Supplementary Material

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