Gendered Youth Time Use in Southeast Asia: A Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Cross-Cohort Comparison

Little attention has been paid to the gender difference in youth time use pre- and post-COVID-19 in Southeast Asia. This study applied data from two cohorts of youth (aged 16–21) in 2016 (pre-COVID-19) and 2023 (post-COVID-19) from a cross-national survey to examine youth time use in the Philippines and Indonesia. Gender, cohort and national differences were explored in the organization of youth’s lives – specifically how they allocate time across 11 domains covering aspects of daily routines, study, labor, and religious activities. Bivariate analysis suggests youth from the post-COVID-19 cohort spent significantly less time sleeping and more time on religious activities. In the pooled two-country sample, regression analysis highlights the persistently gendered time allocation pre- and post-COVID-19, that females spent more time on housework, more time studying outside of school, while males spent more time on family economic activities. The detailed results suggest nuanced processes differentiating the two country samples.