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Time Use Surveys and Women’s Work: How Successful Indian TUSs are in Measuring Women’s Work

In: Women and Work in India: Challenges, Opportunities and Perspectives for Policy

Author

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  • Indira Hirway

    (Centre for Development Alternatives)

Abstract

This Chapter critically evaluates the two all-India Time Use Surveys (TUS) conducted by the NSO to assess how effectively they capture women’s work. While time use surveys in low- and middle-income countries are increasingly used for gender-responsive policy analysis, the objectives guiding India’s TUS remain outdated. Although the surveys followed systematic sampling procedures, significant conceptual and operational shortcomings limited their ability to measure women’s work accurately. The NSO did not adopt the ILO’s updated framework on work and labour statistics, nor did it collect data on labour underutilization, an essential indicator in the Indian context. Moreover, gaps in the data impede meaningful use of TUS findings for SDG 5 on gender equality. Data quality was further compromised by shortcuts in field procedures and design. The Chapter offers recommendations for improving future TUS methodology and concludes that weaknesses in India’s TUS undermine the accurate measurement of women’s work and restrict the policy value of the data.

Suggested Citation

  • Indira Hirway, 2026. "Time Use Surveys and Women’s Work: How Successful Indian TUSs are in Measuring Women’s Work," India Studies in Business and Economics, in: Alakh N. Sharma & Aasha Kapur Mehta & Vandana Upadhyay (ed.), Women and Work in India: Challenges, Opportunities and Perspectives for Policy, chapter 8, pages 165-176, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:isbchp:978-981-95-6103-2_8
    DOI: 10.1007/978-981-95-6103-2_8
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