Gender and time allocation differences in Taganrog, Russia

Data from a time-use survey made in 1997 and 1998 for the city of Taganrog, Russia, is used to analyse the socio-economic determinants of allocation of time and the gender division of housework among mar-ried/cohabiting couples. The main objective of this essay is to identify and assess the impact of a range of socio-economic factors expected to influence the gender division of labour and the time devoted to household activi-ties. The reasons why men and women allocate time differently may be ascribed to efficiency aspects, relative bargaining power, normative and/or discriminatory factors. The results of our estimations suggest that variables such as having children (age 0-12), household income and share of labour income affect the time women spend on housework to a larger extent than men. Furthermore, male education seems to affect both men and women, whereas the education of women has little importance. Thus it seems probable that efficiency factors alone do not suffice to explain the gender differences in time allocation. Our results are to a large extent in line with pre-vious research and do not indicate that Russia differs from Western experience more than Western countries differ among themselves. Gender differences in time allocation show the same pattern over countries and regions even if societies may differ in many other aspects.