25 Years of Changes in Women’s Status and Use of Time. The Case of the Basque Country (Spain)

Joan GARCIA-ROMAN , Centre for Demographic Studies

The increase in the educational level of the population has been one of the great social changes that have occurred in recent decades worldwide. This improvement has been much more accentuated among the female population, that have improved their human capital more compared to men. It has implications in family organization that are reflected in the way how couples divide their time and tasks. In this paper, I will explore how the time use of women in the Basque Country (Spain) has changed over a period of 25 years (1993-2018) where women’s status in terms of high education and access to more prestigious occupations has improved. Higher human capital should allow women to have a more egalitarian division of housework in the household, but also to have access to more leisure activities that are essential for individuals’ well-being. The Basque Country time use survey is carried out every 5 years and it provides a unique series of data to evaluate the progress in gender equality in the Spanish context, which is characterized by a certain delay in improving the status of women and by being a society where more traditional gender roles prevail.

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 Presented in Session 61. Work and the family