GENDER GAP AND INTERGENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN LEISURE TIME IN SOUTH INDIA: EVIDENCE FROM INDIAN TIME USE SURVEY 2019

Abstract

This thesis examines the gender gap and intergenerational differences in leisure time allocation in the five southern states of India, and the analysis is done using the Indian Time Use Survey 2019. This study implements Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition to understand gender gap in leisure time allocation, and robust linear regression is utilized to understand the relationship between various socio-economic factors and leisure time allocation of daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law residing in a shared household. The results show that, on an average, women in South India have more leisure time compared to men in the working age population. However, in the elderly population, men enjoy more leisure time. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition gives a deeper insight into the inequalities in leisure time. While not being employed favour women through the explained component, this same factor favour men through the unexplained component. The intergenerational analysis shows that married woman residing without their mother-in-law have more average leisure than those who reside with their mother-in-law. However, a few socio-economic factors are associated higher leisure time or lesser reduction in leisure time for married woman residing with their mother-in-law, implying a complex role of household dynamics on women’s leisure time allocation.