Full Citation
Title: Spillover of Structural Constraints: Gender Structures in the Work, Family, and Person Spheres
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2024
ISBN:
ISSN:
DOI:
NSFID:
PMCID:
PMID:
Abstract: This study explores how work- and family-sphere gender structures spill over into individuals’ leisure for personal well-being and self-development. Guided by theories of perpetuated gender inequality in work, family, and leisure, this study further brings in theories of labor and leisure and human development to highlight the significance of leisure to the person and conceptualizesthis domain asthe person sphere.Thisstudy expands the bi-sphere work-family framework of gender inequality into a tri-sphere work-family-person framework aiming to further structural-level understandings of how work- and family-sphere gender structures shape individuals’ ostensibly free person sphere through the lens of activity-time allocations. It draws on time diary and socio-demographic data from a representative sample of 31,000 individuals aged 25 to 54 from the 2014- 2019 American Time Use Survey. The findings reveal significant and systematic gender gaps in personal time. Gendered occupations, whether male- or female-concentrated, result in more constrained personal time than gender-neutral occupations. Structural work demands function as a significant mechanism through which male-concentrated occupations, as well as gender-neutral occupations to a lesser extent, influence individuals’ personal time, while not for female-concentrated occupations. Family gender structure shapes inequalities in personal time among typical fathers and mothers, with typical mothers facing more constraints than fathers, household-specialized in-union mothers facing additional constraints than those not, and single mothers facing particular challenges. These findings highlight how gender inequality is reproduced in the ostensibly free person sphere, calling for greater attention to systematic gender inequality beyond the work and family spheres.
User Submitted?: No
Authors: Wu, Xingyun
Publisher:
Data Collections: IPUMS Time Use - ATUS
Topics: Poverty and Welfare, Work, Family, and Time
Countries: