Study Compares
Self-Employed Women To Wage-And-Salary Earners
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – Self-employed women are able to spend more time with their children
and families, compared to their wage-and-salary earning counterparts, according
to a study released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business
Administration. The study finds that self-employed women spend about 3.5 more
hours per week in household activities than wage-and-salary earning women do,
and six more hours than men do.
“Previous studies
have established that women enter self-employment for reasons other than potential
earnings and that life-style factors heavily influence their decision,” said
Shawne McGibbon, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “This study documents
that self-employed women’s time-use patterns are in fact different from those
of wage-and-salary earning women. Self-employed women spend less time on work-related
activities and more time on household activities and child care.”
Advocacy
released Self-Employed Women and Time Use, written by Tami Gurley-Calvez, Katherine
Harper, and Amelia Biehl, at the National Women’s Business Council’s
2009 Women’s Business Summit in Washington, DC. The report used data from
the American Time Use Survey (2003-2006), sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The authors found
that the largest differences in time use between self-employed women and men were
in the area of secondary childcare, where a parent is at the same location as
the child but is primarily engaged in some other activity such as work or household
chores. Moreover, they found that self-employed women also work about 10 fewer
hours per week than self-employed men do. Interestingly, the authors also found
that relative to men, higher-earning women are slightly more likely to enter self-employment
than their lower earning peers are.
The Office of Advocacy,
the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the
role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents
the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President.
It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats,
and it funds research into small business issues.
For more
information and a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of Advocacy website
at www.sba.gov/advo.
The
Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent
voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed
Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small
business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and
state policymakers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202)
205-6533.
Office of Advocacy
U.S. Small Business Administration
NEWSRELEASE
For Release: February 26, 2009
Contact: John McDowell, (202) 205-6941
john.mcdowell@sba.gov
SBA
Number: 09-06 ADVO
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the article is for informational purposes for our members and viewers of our Web
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