Press release 05/03/2021

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY. 2021

In the Basque Country, women took on 67.2% of tasks related to care and household chores

18.1% of employed women were very unsatisfied by the contribution of their spouse or partner in carrying out domestic tasks, and in the case of men, this percentage fell to 4.3%

As part of International Women’s Day celebrated on 8 March, Eustat has gathered relevant statistical information from a gender perspective in the fields of domestic work, the labour market and academic studies, with the aim of raising awareness of statistics on equality between women and men.

According to data prepared by Eustat, published in its Equality of Men and Women section, domestic work is carried out primarily by women in the Basque Country, double the percentage done by men in 2018 in terms of total unpaid domestic work. Within the home, 67.2% of domestic work was done by women compared to the 32.8% by men. In addition, this percentage increased slightly compared to the previous period studied – it was 66.7% in 2013.

By role, women took on 65% of tasks related to raising and caring for children and taking care of the sick and elderly. In the case of household chores, they carried out 83% of activities related to Clothing (buying, washing, ironing, etc.), 69% to Food (planning, buying, cooking, washing dishes, etc.) and 62% to the Home (buying, renting, cleaning, furnishing, maintaining, repairing, etc.).

The distribution of domestic tasks among the employed men and women of the Basque Country was also unequal. Employed women spent more time caring for children and dependents and on household chores than employed men.

In relation to the distribution of household tasks in 2019, nine out of ten men – 89% – spent 2 hours or less, whereas almost three out of ten women – 27.5% – spent 3 or more hours.

Furthermore, with regards to the amount of time dedicated per day to looking after children and dependent persons, there also continued to be differences between the time spent by men and women. Women who work outside the home and have children under the age of 15 dedicated on average 1.4 hours more per day to their care than working men (4.7 and 3.3 hours, respectively). Furthermore, while just over half of women (50.6%) dedicated 5 hours or more per day to looking after their children, in the case of men this percentage stood at 24.6%, with the majority (42%) dedicating 2 hours or less to the care of their children.

Likewise, employed women spent, on average, almost half an hour more per day than men on looking after dependents in their care (2.3 and 1.5 hours, respectively).

Specifically, this uneven distribution of domestic work means that 18.1% of working women were very unsatisfied with the contribution of their spouse or partner in carrying out domestic tasks, which fell to 4.3% of men. In contrast, a high number of working men were very satisfied with the participation of their partner (74.8%) and 44.6% of women were very satisfied. Despite this, or precisely because of it, the percentage of men declaring themselves to be very satisfied with the time they spend on household tasks (47.8%) is similar to that for women (45.7%).

Lastly, it is worth noting that unpaid domestic work done by women would account for 18.6% of GDP, double the economic weight of work done by men, at 9.1%.

Women and the labour market

If we look at the labour market and analyse some aspects highlighted by the Survey on Reconciliation from a gender perspective, such as the type of working day, it is observed that, of the total number of women who work, 60.5% had a continuous working day, compared to 50.3% in the case of men. Furthermore, 17.1% of women always worked on weekends. Night work was for men. 16.6% of men worked at night, compared to 9.8% of women.

By sector, it is worth noting that it is mostly women who are involved in education outside of the home and are employed primarily in care-related activities. In 2020, a total of 49,414 women were employed in the Education sector compared to 23,785 men, and the healthcare and social services sector employed 22,363 men compared to 73,848 women. Meanwhile, sectors such as industry were clearly male-dominated: 138,529 men were employed in the manufacturing industry compared to 36,203 women.

In addition, the proportion of women in managerial positions is much lower than that of men, at 34.23% in 2019. Specifically, one of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda is to achieve gender equality and ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life, which Eustat has incorporated into its “Indicators of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” platform for the dissemination and monitoring of these objectives in the Basque Country.

Academic studies

Women have consolidated their presence in universities. If we compare the younger generations with the older generations, there were more female university graduates among the younger generations and there were more male graduates among people aged 65 and over.

Similarly, among the older generations, those aged 65 and over with low levels of education, i.e. with primary level or no education, were predominantly women.

In Universities, 56% of students are women. Whereas, in the academic year 2018-2019, of the number of women studying a science degree, the vast majority (75.49%) study degrees in Health and Social Sciences, 28.94% are taking degrees related to Mechanics, Electronics and other technical training, Industry and Construction, and 16.76% in Information and Communication Technologies. In Natural Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics degrees, women account for 49.70% of students.

In Upper Secondary Education, there is an equal proportion of boys and girls, but there is a stronger female presence in all options except Science, with 48%. It is worth noting the higher number of girls enrolled in Arts and Humanities, 70%, followed by Social Sciences, with 60%.

Lastly, in Vocational Training, 33% are girls who primarily opt for Personal Image, where they account for 90%; Textile, Garments and Leather and Socio-Cultural and Community Services, with 80% in both cases; Healthcare, with 75%; Administration and Management, with 60%; and Food and Beverage and Chemical Industries, also with 60%. The remaining courses offered are clearly male-dominated, except Business and Marketing, where there is parity.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62