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20/09/2023 | Indicator
Economic Autonomy

Total work time
Sum of the time spent by the population aged 15 and older on both paid and unpaid work. Paid work includes activities related to the production of goods or services included in the national accounts system for the regular calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), covering activities within the labor market. Unpaid work (also called Unpaid Domestic and Care Work – UDCW) refers to domestic and care activities within the household or for other households, for which no payment is received and that are not part of the national accounts system for the regular calculation of GDP. Therefore, the contribution of UDCW is measured through the construction of Satellite Accounts. By definition, the Total Work Time indicator is calculated based on the population engaged in both types of work: paid and unpaid. It is calculated by sex, and the result is expressed as the average weekly hours. The indicator is based on data from time-use surveys and modules from countries compiled in the Latin America and the Caribbean Time-Use Information Repository, covering data from 2007 to the most recent year available. The data may not be fully comparable across countries due to methodological differences in data collection instruments.

Analysis

Total work time is essential for understanding gender gaps in well-being and time use. In all countries in the region with available data, the time spent on unpaid domestic and care work is significantly higher for women than for men. Meanwhile, the increase in female participation in paid work has not been accompanied by a corresponding increase in male participation in unpaid domestic and care work. This burden limits women's ability to participate in the labor market on equal terms, access economic resources that would enable greater autonomy, as well as use their time for educational and personal activities, such as leisure and self-care. This indicator is part of the regional framework for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as a complementary indicator (SDG C-5.4), and is part of the set of prioritized indicators for monitoring the SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean.