When Time Isn't on Your Side: Unpaid Work and the Free-Time Gender Gap in California

When Time Isn’t on Your Side: Gender Disparities in Unpaid Work and Free Time examines how California adults divide their time between work, unpaid childcare and household work, free time, and all other activities. Analyzing American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data from 2021 through 2024, we find that women spend significantly more time than men taking care of children and doing housework like cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping. Moreover, women in California spend more time on work than men, once unpaid childcare and household work in the home is added to the time spent in paid employment.