Ghana - Ghana Time Use Survey 2009

-v1.2: edited data, second version, for internal use only.

2009-07-09

This is the first time thisTime Use Survey has been implemented in Ghana

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2006 and 2007, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), in collaboration with its stakeholders, developed a manual on collecting sex-disaggregated time use data. Using this manual the Ghana Statistical Service, with the financial and technical assistance of UNECA, conducted the fieldwork for the very first Time Use Survey in the country. The main objective of the GTUS was to measure and analyze the time spent in a 24-hour period by different individuals aged 10 years and over - women, men, girls, and boys - on all activities including paid and unpaid work and leisure activities.

A representative sample of 4,800 households was drawn randomly from the list of Enumeration Areas (EAs) of the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). In the selected households all individuals aged 10 years and older were interviewed on the basis of a questionnaire containing questions common to standard household surveys. The study also used a 24-hour diary, divided into one hour slots, as the core instrument to record activities. Data was collected from June to July, 2009. This report presents the main results of the survey.

Main findings

The results demonstrate a distinct gender dimension with respect to the type of activities men and women were involved in. Men reported being more involved in SNA and remunerated activities (74%) than in extended SNA and unpaid activities (66%), while for women the opposite is true, in that 69% of women were involved in SNA activities and 95% in extended SNA activities. There is also the same noticeable gender difference in respect of learning with 31% of men engaged in this activity against 22% for women.

The gender dimensions of the participation rate also appear within the disaggregated categories of activities. The most noticeable differences can be seen for the SNA activities. For example, men (17%) are more likely than women (11%) to work for formal establishments, which usually offer the best conditions in terms of remuneration and social protection. On the other hand, women (29%) are more likely than men (19%) to be involved in paid domestic work.

Broad activities

Participation rates with regard to the different attributes analyzed e.g. age, marital status, educational attainment, household composition, day of week, etc. have a strong gender dimension. There are also clear gender differences in average time spent on different activities and patterns of engagement in SNA and extended SNA activities (especially unpaid care work). The most noticeable gender difference is on extended SNA, where women spend an average of 3 hours and 29 minutes, which is more than 3 times the average time spent by men (69 minutes) on the same activities. The time spent on different activities when there is further disaggregation again has a clear gender dimension. Men reported spending far more time on work for formal establishments such as corporations and government (65 minutes) than women (23 minutes). In contrast, women reported spending more time on unpaid household work (2 hours and 35 minutes) than men (40 minutes).

SNA activities

The participation rates in SNA activities with regard to the various attributes analyzed have a gender dimension. Both women and men have their highest participation rates (38% and 47% respectively) in subsistence activities, which include subsistence agriculture as well as fetching water and collecting wood for cooking. Nearly one-third of women (29%) were involved in work for households providing services for income, as against one-fifth of men (19%) in the same category of activities. Gender differences persist with regard to average time spent on SNA activities even when other factors e.g. age, marital status, residential area are taken into account. Across nearly all demographic characteristics, men generally dedicate more time to SNA activities than women. The most important gender difference between men and women above 18 years old is with the work for household in construction activities, which seems to be a predominantly male activity.

Extended or non SNA-production

In terms of participation rates, child care is the most important sub-category of unpaid care work for both men and women, with adult care coming far behind as the second most important sub-category. There are distinct gender differences in the average time spent on extended SNA activities. When mean time spent by actors on extended SNA activities is further examined across demographic and other factors, the overall pattern is that women spend more time than men on childcare and unpaid household services, while men generally dedicate more time to adult care. The most significant gender differences with regard to adult care are observed among younger, single/never married or married males, males in informal/loose unions, residing in rural areas and with pre and primary level of schooling. Additional gender differences with respect to adult care are found in the time spent by men on certain weekdays.

Non-productive activities

The overall participation rate in general education is high which shows that Ghana has a relatively good enrollment rate for schooling. Similarly, the difference in enrolment rates between urban and rural areas is not very large. The widest difference between the two living areas, in favour of urban areas is found in the category of additional study, non-formal education and courses during free time. The average time spent in general education is slightly higher in urban areas (320 minutes) than in rural area (314 minutes). But there are no remarkable gender differences between urban and rural dwellers. The location difference in terms of all learning activities combined is largest, and in favour of urban areas (383 minutes against 129 minutes for rural area) when it comes to study related to career and professional development. On average, men in urban areas spend significantly more time on this activity than women, while in rural areas the opposite is the case.

Similarly, the gender dimension appears clearly when it comes to leisure and personal activities. Men participate more to recreation, cultural and sport activities. The participation rate for cultural activities is 6% for men while for women it is 2%, for hobbies and other pastime activities as games it is 14% for men and 5% for women, for sport activities it is 20% for men and 5% for women. More than two-thirds (67%) of men reported having activities related to mass media, while 51% of women reported having the same activities.

Conclusion

The survey revealed how different individuals - women, men, girls, and boys in Ghana spend their time in relation to all types of work and work-related activities, both in terms of paid and unpaid labour. The results from the survey will be used as input in the development of a gender-awareness macroeconomic model for Ghana. The results have also highlighted gender imbalances in average time spent on productive and non-productive activities and on paid and unpaid work. This could well feed into the government's policy decisions in an effort to finding solutions that address gender issues in macroeconomics and poverty reduction

Sample survey data [ssd]

Individuals