Outsourcing of Domestic Work in Chile and Uruguay: Exploring Links with Time-Use Patterns

This article analyzes the demand for paid domestic work and the relationship between the outsourcing of domestic work and gender gaps in unpaid work in Chile and Uruguay. Households demanding paid domestic work are similar in Chile and Uruguay but are more concentrated in the upper-income quintile in Chile. In both countries, the presence of domestic workers is associated with a reduction in the gender gap in unpaid hours of work within households. In Chile, this is mainly due to the reduction of women’s unpaid work and in Uruguay, it is also associated with men’s time spent in unpaid work.