Differences between self-employed and employed mothers in balancing family and work responsibilities: Evidence from Latin American countries

Resumen

In this paper, we analyze how self-employed and employed mothers in several Latin American countries allocate their time throughout the day in order to balance their family and work responsibilities. Using data from time-use surveys for Mexico (2009), Peru (2010), Panama (2011), Ecuador (2012) and Colombia (2012), we find that self-employed mothers devote less time to paid work and more time to unpaid work and child care, compared to employed mothers, in the five countries. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that working mothers may want to decrease the number of hours they devote to paid work, and devote more time to their household responsibilities, and that self-employment may be used as a tool for this purpose. Thus, self-employment in Latin American countries may be seen as an instrument to improve the work-life balance of mothers.