Data from a representative survey of adult Australians are analysed for usual and preferred
working time across family types. We discover a time divide regardless of gender and family
type: many short hours individuals desire longer hours of employment, while many long
hours individuals prefer shorter hours. The latter group is larger such that the average
employee desires fewer hours across family types, with the exception of lone mothers. For
dual-earner couples with children, men average approximately 20 hours more per week than
women, a difference that would only decline to 18 hours per week if preferred hours were
realized. However, approximately one-fifth of these couples exhibited egalitarian or nearly
equal working hours. Egalitarian couples averaged a combined 84 hours per week of
employment, tended to share the care of children, were more likely to be non-Australian
born, and included marked numbers of women holding degrees and in professional
occupations.