Women and men at work

This study is part of the [Institute for Fiscal Studies] IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities, chaired by Angus Deaton, which aims to assemble the evidence on the causes and consequences of different forms of inequalities in the UK and the ways that they can best be reduced or mitigated. There will be two phases of work: commissioned studies and commentaries on a large number of key themes; the development of comprehensive and practical policy guidance. This report is concerned with the differences between men and women in all activities that can be labelled as 'work' - that is, the time...  [+] Show more

This study is part of the [Institute for Fiscal Studies] IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities, chaired by Angus Deaton, which aims to assemble the evidence on the causes and consequences of different forms of inequalities in the UK and the ways that they can best be reduced or mitigated. There will be two phases of work: commissioned studies and commentaries on a large number of key themes; the development of comprehensive and practical policy guidance.

This report is concerned with the differences between men and women in all activities that can be labelled as 'work' - that is, the time and energy that people devote to producing things of value. Work thus encompasses the production of market goods and service as well as the time spent doing household chores, childcare or care of the elderly. Data from the UK and other high-income countries reveal a sharp, if unsurprising, divide: men do more paid work outside the house, women do more unpaid work inside. Moreover, when doing paid work, women are paid less. This pattern has remained stable in the past quarter of a century. Gender differences in the sharing of unpaid work - including the sharing of childcare, other care work, and housework - shape much of the unequal outcomes we see in the labour market; a deeply uneven division of unpaid work makes it hard to achieve equal outcomes in paid work.

Do these differences in labour market outcomes between men and women matter? The report explores their many consequences and contend that there are several important reasons why they do: gender disparities in the amount of work individuals do, the types of work they do, and the rewards they get for doing that work are all central determinants of broader gender inequalities in social status, well-being and poverty. At the level of the whole economy, gender inequalities may hamper aggregate efficiency and reduce the overall quantity of the goods and services (both market and non-market) produced. If women face higher barriers to participating in paid work (or, similarly, men face higher barriers to participating in domestic and care work), this will result in women's (respectively men's) talents not being put to their best use and will reduce overall efficiency.

Edited excerpts from publication and publisher's website.