Gender, Time use
Motivation
As you have presented NTA results to various audiences around the world, you may have received questions like these:
- Where are time transfers in your transfer framework?
- Can you show age profiles for men versus women?
Right now, we cannot answer either question adequately. Showing NTA profiles by gender would likely make women appear to contribute far less than men. However, we know women contribute a great deal to their families and communities, but often in ways that are not monetized and thus not a part of the current NTA framework. And the absence of time transfers means that we cannot truly assess the cost of caring for children and the elderly. Adding time use and gender aspects to NTA addresses these issues.
At the 7th Global NTA Workshop in June 2010, a working group formed to discuss adding time use and gender to NTA. The working group developed an outline of research steps, and a reading list for those interested in learning about time use research (see link below). Several countries in the NTA project have immediate or short term plans to conduct pilot projects. Through an email list kept by coordinator Gretchen Donehower, the working group will stay in touch to share progress and discuss challenges.
Our goal is to develop a standard NTA methodology to incorporate an understanding of gender and unpaid work into all NTA research. Please email Gretchen to be added to the email list.
Research Outline and Reading List
NTA and Gender This short paper discusses the issues, research plan, ongoing research, and long- and short-term goals. (December 2010)