Egypt, Cairo, October 24,25 2015 Gender Equality in the MENA Region

1. Gender, Time Use and Inequality
Within the Household
Rana Hendy
ERF Conference, Cairo
October 24-25, 2015

2. Assuming Identical Preferences for Men
and Women
 Assume individual preferences for “quality of life
variables” to be identical regardless of their gender.
 Then, individuals facing the same resource constraints
would choose to be equally healthy, equally educated
and they would choose to work the same total number
of hours either at home or in the market place.
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

3. Women’s Deficit in the Market
Source: GALLUP. % of participation in the workforce among total population. Based on surveys on
136 countries and areas in 2013
-45
-40
-35
-30
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
Global
MENA
SoutheastAsia
LatinAmericaand
Carribean
Non-EUEurope
FormerSoviet
Union
EU
EastAsia
NorthernAmerica
Sub-Suharan
Africa
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

4. Subsistence Work Remains Unaccounted
Source: Hendy (2015)
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

5. Marriage: A Major Determinant of
Women’s Employment Decision
Women married between 1992 and 2012, Egypt
Source: Hendy (2015)
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

6. Motivation
 Low labor force participation that is driven by demand-
side factors.
 But, there is a serious bias in the division of labor within the
household that (at least) partly contributes to this gap in
women’s participation in the labor market.
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

7. Outline
 How Do MENA Women Use Their Time? Care economy
 Time Use and Happiness
 What MENA Women need?
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

8. Time Use Measurement
 Typical Time Use Questions:
 On average, how many hours per week do you personally
spend on paid work (including overtime and second jobs, but
excluding travelling to and from work)? and your partner?
 On average, how many hours per week do you personally
spend on childcare, looking after your family, household
members and on household tasks? and your partner?
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

9. Gender Differences in Intra-Household
Time Allocations
 According to the World Bank report (2012)
 Women bear disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care
work.
 Women devote 1 to 3 hours more a day to housework than
men; 2 to 10 times the amount of time a day to care (for
children, elderly, and the sick), and 1 to 4 hours less a day to
market activities.
 Gender inequalities in time use are large and persistent in
all countries (UN Women, 2013).
 When paid and unpaid work are combined, women in
developing countries work more than men, with less time for
education, leisure, political participation and self-care.
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

10. Women Work Longer in Total!
In most parts of the world, Data shows that women work
longer than men when the “invisible work” done inside
the home is included.
MENA: Lack of data on men’s time use.
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

11. Women Do a Fixed Quantum of Home-
Based Work Regardless of their
employment Status
Source: Hendy (2015)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2006 2012 2006 2012
Employed Not Employed
Ever Married
Hours of market work Hours of housework Hours of carework
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

12. Home-Based Work Increases with Education!
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
NotEmp.
Employed
NotEmp.
Employed
NotEmp.
Employed
NotEmp.
Employed
NotEmp.
Employed
NotEmp.
Employed
NotEmp.
Employed
NotEmp.
Employed
Illiterate Less than Int. Intermediate Higher Ed. Illiterate Less than Int. Intermediate Higher Ed.
Never Married Ever Married
Hours
Domestic Work Market Work
Source: Hendy (2015).
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

13. Time Use Changes with Marriage
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

14. Is Being a Housewife Just as Fulfilling as
Working for Pay?
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
Agree strongly Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
MENA Average Non-MENA Average
Source: World Value Survey Data, 2010-2014
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

15. Housewives Are Not Happier that Working
Women
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
FullTime
PartTime
Housewife
Unemployed
FullTime
PartTime
Housewife
Unemployed
FullTime
PartTime
Housewife
Unemployed
FullTime
PartTime
Housewife
Unemployed
Very Happy Rather Happy Not Very Happy Not At All Happy
MENA Non-MENA
Source: World Value Survey Data, 2010-2014
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

16. In MENA: Among the “Very Happy” Women,
Part-time workers represents the largest shares
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0
Algeria
Bahrain
Palestine
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Libya
Morocco
Qatar
Tunisia
Turkey
Egypt
Yemen
Unemployed
Housewife
Part time
Full time
Source: World Value Survey Data, 2010-2014
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

17. To sum up
 Home-based work represents an important component
of women’s use of time and this share is a fixed quantum
regardless of the woman’s working status.
 Evidence that the number of hours spent on home-based
work is decreasing for all women (technology and time
saving devices)
 Staying at home women are not necessarily happier.
 Data shows that unemployment rates for women are
rapidly increasing which demonstrates their desire to
work in the market place.
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

18. What MENA Women Need?
 More flexible arrangement for women in the market place
that take into consideration the double burden issue
(professional and family responsibilities) especially needed in
the private sector:
 Women (especially the most educated and the married
ones) need:
 Part-time/ reduced-time jobs.
 Commuting arrangements.
 Shorter working hours (similar to the public employment).
 Job sharing.
 Subsidized child care services.
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

19. What MENA Women Need?
 Not necessarily an incentive system that encourages
women into the work force.
 Rather a system that does not discriminate against them
from entering the work force.
 Economic growth and job creation for all.
 Increasing educational attainment levels which in turn
will delay marriage.
 Accounting for the care economy in our GDPs.
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015

20. Thank You
ERF Conference on Gender Equality in MENA, October 24-25, 2015