The gender division of household production in a lifecycle perspective. A comparison between Italy and Spain

Recently time use surveys spread, easing the growth of studies on gender division in household production. This literature shows as in most cases adult women, especially since the moment they are mothers, have a more active role compared to men in domestic production. This pattern is particularly marked in European Mediterranean countries, which show greater gender differentials in time devoted to household and family care. In this paper, we identify and assign a monetary value to domestic productive activities in Time Use Survey (TUS), in order to make them comparable with standard measures of national accounts. Then, age and sex specific profiles of time consumption and time production are estimated for Italy and Spain. Our preliminary results indicate the existence of a strong gender division of household production in both countries, although if to a less extent in Spain for which men are more committed in housework and family care than in Italy.