MEASURING UNPAID WORK IN TANZANIA HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TIME USE SURVEY 2006 Presented at the Global Forum on Gender Statistics, Accra Ghana, 26-28 January.

MEASURING UNPAID WORK IN TANZANIA

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TIME USE SURVEY 2006

Presented at the Global Forum on Gender Statistics, Accra Ghana, 26-28 January 2009

Presentation Outline Introduction Methodology and coverage Findings Conclusion

Introduction The Time Use Survey (TUS) was carried out in

Tanzania for the first time in 2006. This was a module attached to the Integrated Labour Force Survey (ILFS).

The purpose was to gather data on the extent of activities and in particular work-related activities that are carried out by men, women and children in the course of their daily lives.

Some of these activities, such as housework and care for others, are not considered as employment in the standard definition of the term.

However such activities are critical for welfare of the country’s people and the sustainability of the labour force required for employment.

Methodology The time use questionnaire was administered

for seven consecutive days to each household member aged 5 years and above.

The time use diary was provided for each literate household member. For the illiterate members an interviewer was visiting them every morning to complete their diaries

At least 8 thousand households were covered with the time use module whereby each diary covered activities performed within 24 hours from 7 am to 6 am of the following day

TUS

Finding highlights In general all activities that human

beings perform, are categorised into three categories namely; SNA production activities, SNA non-production activities, and Non-production activities.

About 70 percent of people who work in an upaid work in non productive activities

SNA Category Number Percent

SNA Production activities 280,015 15.6

SNA Non-Production activities 265,825 14.8

Non Productive activities 1,250,284 69.6

Total 1,796,124 100.0

SNA unpaid production activities Men;

- Crop farming and market/kitchen gardening: planting, weeding 32.7%

- Travel related to primary production activities (not for est) 27.1%

- Attending animals and fish farming 11.8%

- Water collection 6.2%

SNA unpaid production activities Women;

- Crop farming and market/kitchen gardening: planting, weeding

31.7% - Travel related to primary

production activities (not for est) 33.9%- Water collection 16.3%- Collection of firewood 4%

SNA non-production activities

Overall (Men and Women); - Cooking, making drinks, setting tables, and serving 25.4%- Physical care of children: washing dressing, feeding 10.5%- Clean up after meal 10.4%- Preparing food (grinding, milling, cutting, heating water 8.5%- Cleaning house and surroundings 8.3%

Equal participation in non-productive activities

Chart 1: Participation of men and women in unpaid Non- productive activities

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Unpaid activities by education and sex

Chart 2: Percent of men and women in unpaid work by education level

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ConclusionMeasuring unpaid work and its contribution to the general well-

being of individuals and communities is somewhat tricky. The easiest way to determine the importance of unpaid work the well-being of people and communities is to compare time spent between non-productive (unpaid work) activities and productive activities. The analysis of time spent for these productive and non-productive activities is unfortunately not presented here due to technical difficulties in the raw data provided.

However, some quick findings of the survey that are published in the ILFS analytical report, show that non-productive activities consume more time as compared to productive activities.

It is, therefore, important that when determining what contributes to the national accounts to give reasonable weight to some of the activities that are currently left out as being non-productive.

End!

Asanteni Sana