Transcript Document

Working Time and Gender:
Findings from an ILO Report and
Implications for Time Use Data
International Seminar on Time Use Research
Rio de Janeiro-10 September 2010
Jon C. Messenger
Senior Research Officer
International Labour Office, Geneva
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
What is the ILO?
• The ILO was originally established in 1919; now a specialized
agency of the United Nations (UN) system
• Unlike most of the UN system, the ILO is tripartite:
governments, trade unions, and employer federations
participate in its decision-making bodies
• Objective: Decent work for all
– Promoting opportunities for women and men to obtain
decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom,
equity, security, and human dignity
• Responsible for promulgating International Labor Standards
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
International Working Time Standards
• Preamble to ILO Constitution singles out working hours as an
area of focus and first ILO Convention was on working time—
C1 Hours of Work (Industry)
• Since 1919, the ILO has adopted 39 standards relating to
working time. The most important cover:
– daily and weekly hours—8-h day & 48-h week/
40-h week/reduction of working hours
– weekly rest—minimum of 1 day (24 hours)
– annual leave—minimum of 3 weeks
– night work
– part-time work
– workers with family responsibilities
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
ILO Report on Working Time Around the World
• ILO report Working Time Around the World (Lee, McCann, and
Messenger, 2007; Portuguese language version, 2010)
• Report provides the first-ever global comparative analysis of
national laws, policies, and (usual) working hours which
focuses on developing and transition countries
• The report draws mainly on data from three sources:
– The ILO’s Database of Conditions of Work and Employment
Laws (www.ilo.org/travdatabase) covering more than 100
countries
– An ILO Questionnaire on the distribution of weekly working
hours sent to national statistical agencies around the world
– A series of 15 country studies to provide more in-depth
information for selected countries
• Azerbaijan, Brazil, Chile, China, Czech Rep., Hungary,
Jamaica, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Peru,
Russian Fed., Senegal, Tunisia
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Statutory Limits on Working Hours
• Gradual movement towards a 40-hour limit on weekly hours
of work in national laws over the past four decades
• The ILO Working Time Around the World report confirms that
the 40-hour limit is now the dominant standard for normal
hours of work across the world
• However, substantial regional differences remain, especially:
– 48-hour standard remains dominant in Latin America
– Split in Asia between 48-hour standard and 40-hour
standard (with no generally applicable standard in India
and Pakistan)
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Excessively Long Working Hours:
Proportion of Workers Working Over 48* Hours/Week, 2004-05
(Source: ILO Special Data Collection on the Distribution of Working Hours)
60
50
40
% of total
employment
30
20
All
Workers
10
Ru
ssi
Ne a n F
th
er ed
lan
Es d s
ton
Fr i a
an
ce
U
Br S
M az
au il
rit
ius
U
M K
Ar exic
ge o
nt
in
Ja a
Ta pan
nz
a
Et nia
hi
Pa opia
ki
Th stan
ail
an
Ko d
re
a
Pe
ru
0
Global estimate:
22 % of workers
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Shorter Working Hours:
Proportion of Workers Working Under 35* Hours/Week, 2004-05
(Source: ILO Special Data Collection on the Distribution of Working Hours)
Paid
Employees
Ru
ssi
an
Ta Fed
nz
a
Th nia
ail
a
Es nd
ton
i
Ko a
Pa rea
kis
Et tan
hio
p
M ia
ex
ico
Br
az
il
UK
Pe
r
Fr u
an
ce
U
Ja S
M pan
a
Ne urit
i
th
er us
lan
ds
% of paid
employment
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Gender “Gaps” in Paid Working Hours:
Proportion of Workers Working Over 48* Hours/Week, 2004-05
(Source: ILO Special Data Collection on the Distribution of Working Hours)
60
50
40
% of total
employment
30
Males
Females
20
10
Ru
ssi
a
Ne n F
e
th
er d
lan
Es d s
ton
i
Fr a
an
ce
Br
az
il
M
U
au S
rit
ius
U
M K
e
Ar xico
ge
nt
in
Ja a
p
Et an
hio
Pa pia
kis
Th tan
ail
an
d
Ko
re
a
0
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Gender “Gaps” in Paid Working Hours:
Proportion of Workers Working Under 35* Hours/Week, 2004-05
(Source: ILO Special Data Collection on the Distribution of Working Hours)
Males
Females
UK
Fr
an
ce
M US
au
rit
iu
s
J
Ne ap
a
th
er n
lan
ds
Ru
ssi
an
F
Th ed
ail
an
Es d
to
nia
Ko
Pa rea
ki
st
Et an
hi
op
ia
Br
az
M il
ex
ico
% of paid
employment
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Working Time in the Informal Economy:
Distribution of Weekly Hours of Self-Employed Workers
(Source: ILO Special Data Collection on the Distribution of Working Hours)
<35 hours
35-48 hours
>48 hours
Total
M
18.9
33.4
47.7
100.0
F
61.8
15.4
22.9
100.1
Brazil
M
F
20.1
53.5
49.6
28.8
30.3
17.7
100.0
100.0
Mexico
M
13.7
42.0
44.3
100.0
F
48.2
29.9
21.9
100.0
M
26.0
28.5
45.3
99.8
F
42.2
25.2
32.1
99.5
M
36.1
34.4
29.5
100.0
F
60.8
21.5
17.7
100.0
M
36.7
29.7
33.6
100.0
F
58.7
24.7
16.6
100.0
M
7.1
31.4
61.5
100.0
F
47.7
40.6
11.7
100.0
Guatemala
Ethiopia
Mauritius
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Working Time Developments: Key Findings (I)
• Gradual movement towards a 40-hour limit
on weekly working hours in national laws
over the past four decades
• However, proportions of workers working
long hours remain high in many developing
and transition countries
• There are also substantial proportions of
workers working short hours in many
countries—especially in informal economy
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Working Time Developments: Key Findings (II)
• Major differences in paid working hours by gender
– Proportion of workers working excessively long hours in
paid work greater for men than women in almost every
country
– Proportion of workers working shorter hours in paid work
greater for women than men in almost every country
– Men are divided between those working long hours and
those working short hours—the latter appear likely to be
underemployed
– Women more frequently work shorter hours—particularly
in the informal economy—most likely due to a heavy
burden of family care and other domestic responsibilities,
i.e. their unpaid work
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Implications for Time Use Data
• Available data on hours of work permit researchers
to analyse paid working hours by gender in most
countries
• However, available working time data do not permit
researchers to:
– Analyse unpaid hours of work e.g., time spent on unpaid
household work, caregiving, and other activities outside of
the SNA boundary
– Analyse total hours of work, including both paid and unpaid
work by gender (and other variables e.g., part-time status,
family status, number of children in household, etc.)
– Also, analyse the timing of both paid and unpaid work
activities, which is extremely important for understanding
the time patterns in society
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Average Weekly Hours in Brazil:
Paid Work, Unpaid Work, and Total Work by Gender, 2008
(Source: IBGE PNAD Microdata)
60
50
40
Average Weekly
30
Hours
20
Male
Female
10
0
Paid Market
Work
Unpaid Domestic
Work
Total Work
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Average Weekly Hours in the EU-27:
Paid Work, Unpaid Work, and Total Work by Gender, 2009
(Source: European Foundation for the Improvement
of Living and Working Conditions, 2010)
Paid working hours main job
+Paid working hours second job
+Commuting time
+Unpaid working hours
Full-time
Part-time
0
male
female
male
female
10
20
23.5
30
40
50
60
70
7.3
21.3
32.7
43.1
40.0
7.9
23.0
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Implications for Time Use Data
• Valid, reliable time use data on unpaid work
is essential to allow researchers to address
these important gender and family issues
• The availability of such rich time analyses
can inform public policy choices regarding:
– Employment policies, including part-time
work and other work-life balance policies
– Child care and elder care supports
– Opening hours of public institutions (e.g.,
schools, public transportation services)
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)
Contact Information
Jon C. Messenger
Senior Research Officer
International Labour Office (ILO)
Conditions of Work and Employment
Programme (TRAVAIL)
E-mail address: [email protected]
Website address: www.ilo.org/travail
Social Protection Sector - Conditions of Work and Employment Programme (TRAVAIL)