Coordinating work and family: evidence from the Australian Time Use Survey

Balancing work and family responsibilities is an important issue for dual earner couples in Australia. Using data from the 1997 Australian Time Use Survey, Danielle Venn found that couples with children under 15 years coordinate their working time to increase the proportion of time when at least one parent is not working and therefore able to care for children. This is achieved primarily by the woman reducing the number of hours per day she worked and reducing the likelihood of working at times such as before and after school when child care might be needed. This paper was presented at the Eighth Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference