Women beat men on life expectancy, education - CSO

WOMEN LIVE longer than men and have better educational qualifications but are more likely to be hospitalised with depression.

Men earn more, have higher rates of hospitalisation for schizophrenia and alcoholism and are more likely to be murdered.

These are some of key findings in the report Women and Men in Ireland 2009 which was published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday.

It confirmed many of the old gender stereotypes, with women accounting for most workers in the health and education sectors yet men holding many of the senior positions.

While women accounted for 80 per cent of health service employees last year, 33 per cent of medical and dental consultants were women.

Women accounted for 84 per cent of primary education employees yet 52 per cent of primary school managers were male.

Over one-fifth of women in paid employment worked in clerical and secretarial jobs last year, compared with only 5.6 per cent of employed men.

Meanwhile, men represented more than 96 per cent of workers in the craft sector.

The report pointed out that Ireland had perfect gender balance in 2008 with 100 women per 100 men in the population. This gender balance was unique among EU states.

However, there were more boys than girls in the younger age groups while there were more women than men in the older age groups. This was accounted for by the fact that women live longer.

Life expectancy for women in Ireland was 81.6 years in 2006 – nearly five years more than the value for men of 76.8 years.

Men were more likely to die at a younger age than women, particularly in the 15-24 age group which reflected a greater tendency for young men to commit suicide and to be victims of road incidents involving motor vehicles.

The report found that the prison population was overwhelmingly male. Of the 6,455 people committed to prison under sentence in 2007, just 7.4 per cent were women.

While the violent deaths of women generate significant media coverage, the CSO report found that men accounted for more than 80 per cent of murder and manslaughter victims in 2007.

Women are less likely to leave school early and more likely to achieve third-level qualifications.

The early school leavers rate among women aged 18-24 in 2007 was 8.7 per cent, compared with the male rate of 14.2 per cent.

Higher proportions of girls took English, Irish and French at higher level in the 2009 Leaving Cert, while boys had higher rates of participation in technical subjects.

The report showed that women continued to be under-represented in decision-making structures at national and regional levels last year.

Some 14 per cent of deputies in Dáil Éireann were women last year, while they accounted for 34 per cent of members of State boards. Women accounted for 17 per cent of members of local authorities and 12 per cent of members of regional authorities. In contrast, the average representation in national parliaments in the EU was nearly 24 per cent.

Women’s income in 2007 was about two-thirds of men’s but after adjusting for the longer hours worked by men, women’s hourly earnings were about 87 per cent of men’s.

The report found that women were slightly more likely to belong to an organised religion than men. In 2006, 95 per cent of women described themselves as Roman Catholic or Church of Ireland, compared with 93.5 per cent of men.

Some 3.5 per cent of men described themselves as having no religion, while 2.2 per cent of women ticked this box.

MEN AND WOMEN: THE DIFFERENCES

EDUCATION

Some 51 per cent of women aged 25-34 had a third-level qualification last year, compared to 38.7 per cent of men in this age group.

UNEMPLOYMENT

The unemployment rate for men in Ireland was 15.1 per cent last year while the unemployment rate for women was 8.1 per cent.

POLITICS

Some 14 per cent of TDs in Dáil Éireann were women last year. They accounted for 34 per cent of members of State boards.

POPULATION

Ireland was the only EU country to have a perfect gender balance in 2008, with 100 women per 100 men in the population.

HEALTH

The male rate of admission for alcoholic disorders and schizophrenia was more than 60 per cent higher than the female rate in 2008, while the female rate of admission for depression was over 40 per cent higher than the male rate.

INCOME

Women's income in 2007 was about two-thirds of men's income. After adjusting for the longer hours worked by men, women's hourly earnings were about 87 per cent of men's.

Source: Women and Men in Ireland 2009published by the CSO. www.cso.ie