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Family time of couples with children: shortening gender differences in parenting?

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Abstract

In the context of dramatic changes in family organization, this research analyzes time shared with the family (partner and children) among couples with young children in Spain. The main purpose of the paper is to analyze the differences in the roles of mothers and fathers in dual-earner and male-breadwinner couples. For this purpose, we use information derived from the question “with whom the activity is done,” which is included in the enumeration form of the Spanish Time Use Survey 2009–2010. The availability of time-use diaries for all the members of a household allows the use of the couple as a unit of analysis. The descriptive and multivariate results show that mothers spend more time with children than fathers do and that the employment-status variables are the most determining factors. Gender-balanced couples have lower differences in the time that fathers and mothers spend on activities with their children. However, the differences remain high, and mothers are still the main caregivers in the household. These findings apply to a specific context characterized by weak policies related to balancing family and work and by the persistence of a division of roles in the couple with some resemblances to the traditional model, especially in the role that considers mothers the main caregivers.

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Notes

  1. We group full-time and part-time employed people. In Spain, the proportion of part-time workers is low, and this distinction would not add much to our analysis. [In 2010, the incidence of part-time employment in Spain was 12.4% (OECD 2012).].

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge support from the Minnesota Population Center under NIH Center Grant R24HD041023 and Data Extract Builder of the ATUS (University of Maryland, R01HD053654; University of Minnesota, Z195701) and from the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia “Demografía familiar y movilidad social” (CSO2013-43461-R) and “El rol de los hombres en la dinámica familiar desde una perspectiva internacional” (CSO2013-43482-R).

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  1. Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Joan Garcia Roman

  2. Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

    Clara Cortina

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  1. Joan Garcia Roman
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Correspondence to Joan Garcia Roman.

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Garcia Roman, J., Cortina, C. Family time of couples with children: shortening gender differences in parenting?. Rev Econ Household 14, 921–940 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-015-9315-8

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