The Gender Gap in Children’s Educational Time Investments in Informal Settlements

We document gender differences in children’s time investments in education, labour, and leisure in an understudied population of children living in urban informal settlements. Using within-settlement and within-sibling comparisons, we find that boys spend significantly less time than girls on schooling and homework and more time on leisure activities. We also find that caregivers invest less time in helping their sons with reading and homework than their daughters. One possible explanation is that girls spend more time on domestic work. As a result, as the share of girls in the household increases, primary caregivers spend less time on domestic work and more time on other activities such as teaching children. We find that the gender gaps in time use are more pronounced among children whose parents have lower schooling and more financial constraints.