Hanane Hart

Morocco — In Morocco, equality is measured not only by access to work but also by the ability to own time. But is this resource distributed fairly between women and men? For many women, this right remains invisible, yet it is consumed daily in unpaid domestic work that begins in childhood and never ends.

Equality in time

From an early age, girls learn that their time is directed toward serving the family and their surroundings: tidying the house, preparing food, and caring for siblings. In contrast, boys are given more space for play and self-development, which reinforces an early disparity in how time is managed between the genders and reproduces traditional roles within society.

This disparity does not disappear with age; it becomes even more evident in professional and family life. For many working women, the workday does not end upon leaving the job; rather, a second shift begins inside the home, where continuous daily tasks await them.

However, this extension of burdens is not solely linked to women's participation in the workforce itself, but rather to the continued assignment of almost full domestic responsibilities to them, despite their contribution to work outside the home.

Double burden

Mariam B., 38, an employee in Casablanca, embodies this reality. Her day begins before dawn, preparing breakfast for her children and tidying the house before heading to work. After returning, she engages in another round of housework, from washing clothes to preparing dinner and helping her children with their studies.

She told our agency: "Sometimes I feel that the day is not enough, as if I am living two lives at once... one at work and another at home. My husband, after his day ends, finds time to rest, while I continue working nonstop."

This testimony reflects a broader situation documented by international reports. Data from the OECD indicates that women spend, on average, significantly more time daily in unpaid work compared to men—a disparity that limits their opportunities for education, professional development, and economic stability, and reinforces existing gaps in equality indicators.

Morocco is no exception to this context. Official data from the High Commission for Planning shows that women spend 4 hours and 17 minutes daily on domestic work inside and outside the home, compared to only 38 minutes for men. This means that a woman spends more than one-sixth of her daily time on such work—six times more than a man.

The study also showed that equal sharing of housework between spouses remains limited in Morocco, adopted by only one in ten educated couples.

This gap in numbers not only reflects inequality in task distribution, but its effects extend to daily life, where men find greater opportunities for rest or personal activities, while women are besieged by a chain of domestic responsibilities and family care, limiting their ability to allocate time for themselves.

In this context, Ibtissam Tati, a civil society activist, believes that the disparity in time distribution begins in childhood and does not diminish over time; instead, it turns into a double burden borne by women between professional and domestic work, compared to a wider margin of personal time for men.

She warns that this imbalance in the distribution of roles not only affects women's opportunities but also creates continuous psychological pressure that may impact the stability of family relationships.

Possible solutions

In contrast, she points out that this pattern is not fixed across all families, as some families have begun adopting more balanced approaches based on sharing responsibilities within the home.

Ibtissam Tati calls for rethinking methods of socialization by giving girls the same freedom that boys enjoy in managing their time, and training all children without discrimination in basic life skills, such as tidying their belongings, participating in housework, and self-reliance.

She emphasizes that sharing responsibilities within the family not only reduces pressure on women but also contributes to building a more balanced generation capable of managing their lives independently.