More than Clockwork: Women's Time Management in Their Combined Workloads

Abstract

Women's labor force participation requires not only their compliance with workplace schedules but also the coordination of these with household needs. The routinization of paid work hours, scarcity of discretionary time, and conflict in the time requirements of women's combined workload contribute to the difficulty of accommodating these demands. Women respond to these constraints by implementing timing strategies which include: their conformity to and priorization of paid work hours; manipulation of time use, especially in household schedules; routinization of daily tasks; and synchronization of household and workplace events, as well as preparation for contingency needs. Women's responsibility for the household in time is thus perpetuated not only by gendered differences in time use but also in its allocation. The intentional and creative “time management” performed by women enables them to accommodate the constraints of a combined workload.