Abstract
With the rise in women participation in labour force and gender equality campaigns on the one hand and cultural norms which characterise women as house makers on the other, most married women often find themselves in a dilemma as to how to allocate their time among competing needs. This paper used a theoretical approach in reviewing the applicability of the proposals of Becker’s allocation of time theory to the married women’s allocation of time between household duties and labour force participation to the Zimbabwean situation. It was concluded that though the model ignores the cultural norms of assigning household roles to specific gender, it explained to a greater extent the trends observed in which women spend more time in household chores to which they have a comparative advantage as opposed to their male counterparts. The substitution and income effects explained in this model are also applicable to the preferences and patterns of time allocation by married when faced with a change in wages.
Highlights
With the rise in women participation in labour force and gender equality campaigns on the one hand and cultural norms which characterise women as house makers on the other, most married women often find themselves in a dilemma as to how to allocate their time among competing needs
The statement that “Becker’s theory of allocation of time better models decisions made by married women as they allocate time between household duties and labour force participation” is generally true for most married women. This is clearly explained through the specialisation concept where married women spend more time in household duties relative to males due to their comparative advantage in such activities
The substitution and income effects explained in this model are applicable to the preferences and patterns of time allocation by married women when faced with a change in wages
Summary
With the rise in women participation in labour force and gender equality campaigns on the one hand and cultural norms which characterise women as house makers on the other, most married women often find themselves in a dilemma as to how to allocate their time among competing needs. Becker’s theory of allocation of time provides a basic theoretical analysis of choice that includes the cost of time on the same footing as the cost of market goods [1]
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