The 2006 census marked the third time that Statistics Canada recorded the hours of unpaid work performed by Canadians. For purposes of the census, unpaid work includes house and yard work, care of children, and care and assistance to seniors. It does not include volunteer work to community or charity organizations.

In Manitoba, 91% of people over the age of 15 living in private households, contribute unpaid work each week. However, this work is not equally divided between men and women.

Hours of Unpaid Work by Manitobans over the age of 15 (numbers represent the number of Manitobans who fit into each category)

Unpaid work	Sex
	Both	Male	Female
Total - Hours spent doing unpaid housework	897,760	435,540	462,220
No hours of unpaid housework	78,085	47,175	30,915
Less than 5 hours of unpaid housework	200,510	121,895	78,615
5 to 14 hours of unpaid housework	284,985	148,480	136,505
15 to 29 hours of unpaid housework	188,685	75,490	113,195
30 to 59 hours of unpaid housework	98,795	29,775	69,020
60 hours or more of unpaid housework	46,685	12,720	33,965
Total - Hours spent looking after children, without pay	897,755	435,535	462,215
No hours of unpaid child care	548,630	282,265	266,365
Less than 5 hours of unpaid child care	84,255	43,520	40,735
5 to 14 hours of unpaid child care	80,990	41,090	39,900
15 to 29 hours of unpaid child care	59,040	29,155	29,880
30 to 59 hours of unpaid child care	47,555	18,390	29,165
60 hours or more of unpaid child care	77,285	21,115	56,170
Total - Hours spent providing unpaid care or assistance to seniors	897,755	435,535	462,220
No hours of unpaid care or assistance to seniors	713,195	358,100	355,095
Less than 5 hours of unpaid care or assistance to seniors	111,365	49,910	61,455
5 to 9 hours of unpaid care or assistance to seniors	41,340	15,625	25,715
10 to 19 hours of unpaid care or assistance to seniors	15,305	5,600	9,705
20 hours or more of unpaid care or assistance to seniors	16,545	6,300	10,245

Source: Statistics Canada. 2006 Census of Population.

What This Means

• 15% of women in Manitoba and 17% of men contribute 5-14 hours of unpaid work per week. Almost 5% of both women and men contribute 5-14 hours of unpaid childcare per week. 7% of women and 5.5% of men contribute less than 5 hours a week caring for seniors.
• 13% of women in Manitoba and only 8% of men contribute more than 15 hours of unpaid work per week. 2% of women and 0.6% of men spend 10-19 hours a week on the unpaid care of seniors than men.
• 8% of women in Manitoba and only 3% of men contribute more than 30 hours of unpaid work per week.
• 4% of women in Manitoba and only 1.4% of men contribute more than 60 hours of unpaid work each week. 6% of women and only 2% of men in Manitoba contribute more than 60 hours on unpaid childcare per week.

Do these statistics frustrate you? Here's some humour to help ease reality.

While all women experience the challenges of unpaid work, single mothers have an especially difficult time fitting in paid and unpaid work while making ends meet. UNPAC's sister organization, the Brandon Women's Centre, published a report called "No Time Left for Me: A Reality Check on the Impact of Government Policy on Women's Caregiving Work" documenting the experiences of single moms.