Technology, time allocation and gender in Portugal

Several studies have suggested that the development of technologies such as household appliances, ICT and means of transport have not necessarily reduced the time spent on household and caring work and that the role of these technologies as facilitators of a balance between work, family and private life is modest. In the study presented, the possible relationships were examined between technology use and time allocation in households, focusing the gender factor. The research was carried out in two different regions in Portugal and involved a questionnaire survey among 430 couples, various focus group sessions and in-depth interviews. Three of the main results will be discussed. The first addresses the diffuse character of the effects of home-centered technologies on the execution and duration of domestic chores and caring tasks. The second is the technology-induced higher permeability between the domestic, personal and professional domains, which may be salutary but also stress-provoking. The third point to be made is the limited change technologies brought about in the gendered allocation of domestic work. These results confirm the assumption that it is not technology which brings about social change but rather the mutual interaction between technology and social context. It may be concluded that gender roles and gender identity are major factors affecting the perception and use of time and technology. The artefact does not define the use, but the use defines the meaning of the artefact, and the gender of the user is here of great importance.