Education and Gender Gap in Couples' Time Use: Evidence from China

Using the 2010 China Family Panel Studies data, this article provides new evidence on the gender gap and the role of education in time use among married Chinese couples in both urban and rural areas. Across urban and rural areas and on both work and non-work days, wives spent much more time on personal and household care, while husbands spent more time on work and leisure/social activities. For urban wives, having the same or higher levels of education than their husbands helped narrow the gender gap in time spent on personal and household care, paid work, and leisure/social activities. In contrast, rural wives with the same levels of education as their husbands increased their time spent on leisure and social activities, but they also increased their time spent on personal and household care. These results help shed light on policy debates regarding gender inequality in China and around the world.