Stability and change in family time transfers and workload inequality in Italian couples

This paper analyses changes from 2003 to 2014 in the magnitude and directions of time (i.e., non-market) family transfers and in the gender distribution of total work among Italian couples. The study draws on microdata from the 2003, 2009, and 2014 Italian Time Use Surveys. First, we follow the National Transfer Accounts methodology to estimate gender-specific age profiles of production and consumption of unpaid domestic work and of the related time transfers within families. Then, we focus on couples and build an indicator of workload inequality. Finally, we perform a multivariate statistical analysis to describe the characteristics of the partners associated with gender inequality in the division of work disfavouring women. Female non-market work considerably decreased during the 2003-2014 period. However, women continue to be net donors of time transfers within the family and to perform the bulk of the work within the couple. Households where both partners do not have a market job or where only the woman works in the market show the highest levels of inequality, with women contributing to about 70% of the couples’ total working time.