Women’s Leisure Time by Educational Attainment

Using data from the American Heritage Time Use Study, researchers at the University of London, Oxford University, and the University of Zaragoza in Spain found that between 1965 and 2003 American women had three and a half hours more leisure time per week.

Women with lower levels of education had three hours and 45 minutes more leisure time per week than women with a college education. From 1965 to 2003, women with lower levels of education increased their amount of leisure time by 5.5 hours per week. College-educated women had an increase in their leisure time by two hours per week from 1965 to 2003.

Women with higher education credentials spent, on average, one hour and 10 minutes more leisure time with their spouse than was the case in 1965 but they spent less time with other adults.

The research, “Leisure Inequality in the U.S.: 1965-2003,” is published in the August issue of the journal Demography. The article can be accessed here.