Paper short abstract:

We examine gender disparities in time allocation between paid and unpaid work in Brazil. Using the capability approach, we explore if these inequalities indicate restrictions in time allocation choices. Preliminary findings suggest that women's disproportionate engagement in care work might indicate a deprivation in capabilities and functionings, affecting their participation in the labor market.

Paper long abstract:

The capabilities approach, as initially proposed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, advocates that authentic freedom should encompass the ability to choose a desired life without regrets. However, for women, social norms, educational disparities, and barriers to job access signify deprivation. Women should have the freedom to choose jobs according to their values for working, with no constraints related to social norms, which usually impose on women the task of caring for children and for the elderly. Our paper aims to explore the hurdles that arise from gender social norms related to care, which can limit women's freedom of choice, acting as a source of deprivation. Our concern lies in the processes of converting resources into substantial freedoms, a process that is essential to empower women to flourish. The paper sheds light on the challenges women encounter in seizing opportunities and transforming resources into functional assets. Many of these challenges can be identified at the labor market, where gender inequalities can be significantly influenced by domestic work. Women often face a double workload, assuming a larger share of household responsibilities compared to men, consequently having fewer hours available for the labor market (Madalozzo, Martins, and Shiratori, 2010). Historically, women have borne the primary burden of caregiving, restricting their choices to participate fully in the labor market. While there has been a noticeable surge in female labor force participation in modern capitalist economies, women still bear the brunt of both paid and unpaid care work (Folbre, 2012). This increased involvement in domestic tasks leaves women with fewer labor market hours than men, compounding the issue of unequal domestic workload. In 2006, Brazil's National Household Sample Survey revealed that 40% of women worked less than 40 hours per week, while 50% of men worked more than 44 hours per week. Moreover, having children under 14 years old further diminishes women's time available for paid work, underscoring how household and caregiving duties curtail women's labor force participation (Queiroz and Aragón, 2015). Barbosa (2018) notes a recent reduction in gender disparities in Brazil concerning time allocation for work. However, despite this progress observed by the author between 2001 and 2015, men consistently maintained higher labor force participation rates and spent less time on household chores compared to women. The gender inequalities related to paid and unpaid work became more evident in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. In Brazil, the closure of schools and daycare centers increased the demand for care, which is usually attributed to women (Barroso and Gama, 2020). Our paper examines the disparity in time allocation between paid and unpaid work among men and women in Brazil using data from Brazil's National Household Sample Survey. Employing the capability approach, we explore whether the observed inequality in time usage between genders signifies limitations in time allocation choices. We use the capability approach to address gender-based time poverty, extending the discourse beyond the data to contemplate the reconciliation of caregiving and work decisions across genders. According to Walker, Berekashvili and Lomidze (2014) there is a growing recognition of the time use issue as one of the facets of poverty, especially in relation to gender, as they indicate a panorama of gender inequalities in the division of labor. Entrenched social norms often assign women the responsibilities within the family sphere, while men are designated the tasks deemed 'productive work' (Bandeira and Preturlan, 2016). The redistribution of caregiving responsibilities can serve as a means to women's ability to balance paid and unpaid work, thereby enhancing women's capabilities to function. Our preliminary findings suggest that women's disproportionate engagement in care work might indicate a deprivation in capabilities and functionings, ultimately affecting their participation in the labor market. We underline the necessity of achieving equilibrium between paid and unpaid activities within families, particularly to enhance young women's freedom of choice concerning their future careers.