Men, women and work in rural Zambia

This study is concerned with time allocation of men and women in Luapula Province, Zambia. It discusses the discrepancies between a detailed quantitative survey and the more qualitative information gained through diaries. The study focuses in particular on the diary kept by one individual, and argues for a nuanced picture of the social relations behind time allocation practices. This means understanding the conditions which shape choices, the values and subjective meanings attached to different activities. It is argued that Zambian men are not simply idle and that considerable time devoted to social activities should not be dismissed as 'leisure'. On the other hand, the individual benefits from investments in what could be characterised as social reproduction cannot be neatly read off as household benefits. Male social activity enables men to better engage in particular discourses of development which may be of eventual benefit to them, materially or symbolically. The differential impacts of such activity reflect gendered differences in the ability to act and make choices.