Gender, Work, and Leisure in Old Age in China and India

This paper examines how paid and unpaid work affects leisure differently for older women and men in China and India. We use data from the World Health Organization’s Study on Global Aging and Health. We find that urban China, with higher levels of public welfare and gender equality, represents the best scenario for older adults’ leisure life in developing countries. Although urban Chinese women are disadvantaged relative to urban Chinese men, they still enjoy longer hours of leisure and relaxing leisure than both men and women in rural China, urban India and rural India. Furthermore, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition results show gender disparities in unpaid housework to be the primary driver of gender inequalities in leisure in all societies, albeit to varying degrees. These findings highlight the role of public welfare, gender equality, and the gendered consequences of the family support model in shaping older adults’ leisure life.