Family reconciliation and the use of time in technical architecture professionals

Abstract

The professional sector of technical architecture is one of the most male-dominated sectors in the world. The permanence of women in this sector is affected by various obstacles, including the difficulty of reconciling work and family life. The aim of this research is to find out the gender differences in the use of time of these professionals, with emphasis on the variation caused by having children. To this end, a web survey was carried out among 435 technical architecture professionals registered in Spain (50.1% women, 49.9% men). The results reveal that the most significant differences according to the sex of the participants are found in the average time spent on caring for third parties, with women spending three hours more than men on this task every day, highlighting the need for public policies to ensure equal treatment and opportunities between women and men in employment.