Lockdown has influenced some Moroccan men’s role in the home, with 19.3% of men saying they contributed to housework for the first time during confinement.
Rabat – Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) has released the results of a survey highlighting that Moroccan men are more involved in housework than ever before.
HCP consulted 2,169 households from June 15-24 for the study. The data shows that 45% of Moroccan men say they help with housework, compared to 13.1% in 2012.
In urban areas, 49% of Moroccan men report helping with housework compared to 15.3% in 2012. In rural areas, 37% of men say they help out around the house, compared to 9.7% in 2012.
HCP reported that the men who are the most involved in housework tend to have a higher education level. This category spends at least 51 minutes doing housework per day.
Moroccan men belonging to the 20% of the “wealthiest households” spend approximately one hour and four minutes doing housework per day, according to the HCP survey.
Lockdown has influenced some Moroccan men’s role in the home, with 19.3% of men saying they contributed to housework for the first time during confinement.
For Moroccan women, time spent doing housework differs according to their social category, HCP underlined.
Busy, working women spend around three hours and 54 minutes on housework per day. Housewives spend five hours and 30 minutes.
Married women spend five hours and 12 minutes on housework per day, while single women spend three hours and 17 minutes.
Moroccan women with higher education degrees spend three hours and 23 minutes on housework every day. Women without higher education report spending four hours and 51 minutes on housework per day.
Technology use during lockdown
In addition to men’s involvement in housework, the HCP also spotlighted how Moroccan families spend time during the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
The study found that more than half of Moroccans, or 51.5%, spend leisure time using information and communication technology (ICT).
Around 1.5% of households explored technology for the first time during lockdown (1.2% of men and 2% of women).
The average time spent using smartphones, tablets, or computers for communication and leisure ranges from one hour and 40 minutes to one hour and 57 minutes for men. For women, the time spent hovers around one hour and 23 minutes.
The use of digital means is more common in urban areas than rural areas. In urban areas, Moroccan households spend two hours using technology per day while rural households spend only one hour.
Among youth, the average daily use of technology is more significant.
Young people aged between 18 and 24 use smartphones for more than three hours and five minutes per day.
Those with higher education levels spend three hours and one minute per day on their phones.
Active students report spending three hours and 30 minutes on their phones per day.
