64th ISI World Statistics Congress - Ottawa, Canada

64th ISI World Statistics Congress - Ottawa, Canada

Harnessing the labour force survey for modular time use measurement: Closing the gender data gap on unpaid care and domestic work

Conference

64th ISI World Statistics Congress - Ottawa, Canada

Format: IPS Abstract

Keywords: genderequality, labour-force-surveys

Abstract

Labour force surveys (LFSs) are the main source of official labour statistics and headline indicators. As such, they occupy a central role in national household sample survey programmes. LFSs collect detailed information on labour force participation, employment status and characteristics, as well as unemployment and under-employment, job quality and working conditions.

Following major changes enacted in 2013, at the 19th ICLS (international conference of labour statisticians), the remit of LFSs expanded to include the production of statistics on own use provision of services – also termed unpaid domestic and care work (UDCW).

Unpaid domestic and care work covers a wide range of activities and responsibilities undertaken for own final use – that is, for oneself, one’s household, or one’s family members. It includes cooking, cleaning, and other routine housework; household budgeting and management; household repairs, maintenance, and decoration; and childcare and adult-care provision.

The standards adopted at the 19th ICLS provide a strong conceptual framework and reference definitions to underpin the production of statistics on UDCW. However, time use survey methodology – the default measurement approach – remains something of a specialised field and presents distinctive challenges, not routinely encountered in household sample surveys. This has acted as a deterrent to data collection on the topic, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

In 2020, with the support of Data 2X, the ILO initiated a programme of work to develop guidance on modular time use measurement. In this presentation, we discuss lessons learned in the operationalisation of the standards, following a three-year programme of international, mixed methods piloting in partnership with national statistics organisations and research institutes. We showcase the resulting modular survey tools and guidelines developed by the ILO to support the routine production of accurate, timely, and cost-effective statistics on UDCW in LMICs. We present key findings related to construct validity, survey operations, and the statistical performance and concordance of alternative module designs under an experimental study design.

We illustrate how the pilot studies informed key design elements, with reference to the final model modules. We demonstrate some of the ways in which the integration of time use measurement modules within national LFS permits fuller treatment of gender-based differences and inequities in work, employment and labour force status, while also supporting a fuller analysis of the contribution of unpaid domestic and care work to national economies.