Measurement and Determinants of Time-Use by Urban Women of Working Age Group: A Case Study in Kolkata Municipal Corporation, West Bengal, India

The study focuses on the measurement of unpaid time use (UPTU) and searches its determinants for the urban women of the working age group (WWA) of 22-60 years, based on a multi-stage stratified random-sampling procedure drawn on three residential area types: affluent area (AA), residential area (RA) and slum area (SA) from selected regions of the north and south of Kolkata city, West Bengal, India. A primary survey was conducted to collect data on the detailed time disposition pattern of each respondent along with the contextual variables for both weekday (WKD) and weekend (WKE) and their socio-economic information. As per the reported TU pattern of 24 hours (1440 minutes) of a day, the total time has been segregated into three categories of time-use (TU): UPTU, paid-time-use (PTU), and personal-time-use (RTU). In the context of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 of the UN, the study specifically searches for the determinants of female time use patterns, with special emphasis on UPTU. The sample summary statistics suggest that on average the sample WWA spends 31.04% on UPTU, 4.42% on PTU, and 64.55% on RTU. The significant determinants of UPTU turn out to be the direct and indirect income indicators (residential area-types, income from other sources); no responsibility for providing care in the family affects UPTU negatively, while some occupational-pattern indicators (homemaker, professional-turned-homemaker, petty professional); marital status; and responsibility of childcare and guests affect UPTU (WKD) positively. The salaried-service, high-professional, Bengali, north Kolkata-resident, and elderly WWA appear as extra significant variables positively affecting the extent of UPTU (WKE).