Gender and Work in South Africa: What Can Time-Use Data Reveal?

Using data from the 2000 South Africa National Time Use Survey, this study argues that a gender-aware understanding of men's and women's time use can help complement information on productive work missed in labor force surveys. Further, time-use information on job searches and household work provides insights into the interconnectedness of gender inequalities in the labor market and the household. An analysis of the time-use patterns of 10,465 working-age women and men in South Africa shows that a nontrivial proportion classified as either "not in the labor force" or "unemployed" actually engaged in subsistence, temporary, and casual forms of employment. This study finds that while women's and men's hours of unpaid work do not vary greatly across employment status, these obligations affect women's employment options andtheir ability to look for paid work. Time-use data help identify the salient characteristics of these individuals and the nature of their occupations.