‘Me time’ rises for men but women miss out

Men enjoy more leisure time and do less around the house than they did 15 years ago, figures reveal

Men are spending more time having fun than they were 15 years ago, while for women leisure time is reducing.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that the amount of time men spend on leisure activities rose from 42.88 hours a week in 2000 to 43 hours a week in 2015. Over the same period, the number of leisure hours taken by women dropped – from 39.24 in 2000 to 38.35 in 2015. The ONS said the data “suggests that there is a growth in inequality”.

IT MAY not come as a shock to women that, when it comes to housework, figures show they are more than pulling their weight compared with men.

But it may add to their consternation to discover that men are spending more time having fun than they were 15 years ago – and shouldering less of the unpaid work.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that the amount of time men spend on leisure activities rose from 42.88 hours a week in 2000 to 43 hours a week in 2015.

Over the same period, the number of leisure hours taken by women dropped – from 39.24 in 2000 to 38.35 in 2015.

The ONS said the data “suggests that there is a growth in inequality between men and women when it comes to taking leisure time. Men are now taking quite a lot more time each week for leisure and women are taking less, compared with 2000.”

It added: “Leisure time for women could be less than for men because, although women are more frequently engaged in part-time work than men, they spend more time completing unpaid work, such as household chores and child care.”

An increased care burden could be behind some of the disparity. People in their 40s and 50s have become known as the “sandwich generation”, who must care for elderly parents while supporting children who are not yet financially independent and may still be living at home. And figures suggest women are taking on much of this responsibility, with younger females also bearing an increasing burden.

The data, from the Harmonised Time Use Survey 2015, shows that women are spending an increasing amount of time on caring for other adults, while men in all age groups under 50 spend less time on this activity.

There was a 27 per cent rise for women aged between 30 and 49 and 21 per cent rise for over-50s between 2000 and 2015, the data shows, while women under 30 spent 67 per cent more time caring for adults.

By contrast, child care has become slightly more equal since 2000, though the gap is still significant. Mothers spend an average of 199 minutes a day compared with 209 in 2000, and fathers spend 91, compared with 87 in 2000.

Women aged between 25 and 34 took the least amount of leisure time of any age group, spending an average of just 31.5 hours a week on leisure activities.

Mothers with children aged under five took even less, with an average of 28.5 hours per week. Men with a child the same age took around 30 hours.

The largest amount was taken by men aged 65 and over, with an average of 53.2 hours a week.

Adults of both genders generally take more leisure time as they get older, the ONS said, with the exception of those aged between 16 and 24.

Men in this age group take 10 hours a week more than those in their late 20s and early 30s, and women take seven hours a week more. “This might be due to this age group including students,” the report suggested.

Leisure time includes watching television and hobbies such as craft and gardening, as well as more active pursuits such as going to bars and restaurants, religious worship and sport.