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Women earn less, live longer

A new gender report published by the CSO today compares key differences in the social and economic lives of men and women in Ireland. The report, Women and Men in Ireland 2004, includes a section that focuses on Ireland’s performance on EU Council policy targets in areas such as employment rates and representation in decision-making.

Highlights from the report include:

• The employment rate for women aged 15-64 in Ireland in 2003 was 55.3%, which was just above the EU 25 average of 55%. The employment rate for men in Ireland in 2003 was 74.7%, which was well above the EU 25 average of 70.8%.

• The Stockholm Council set employment rate targets of 50% for both men and women in the 55-64 years age group in 2010. Ireland already exceeds the male target (64.7% in 2003) but is considerably below the female target (33.4% in 2003).

• The employment rate for women aged 20-44 varied from 87.2% for women with no children to 52.4% for women whose youngest child was aged 3 or under.

• Men worked almost 10 hours longer per week than women in 2004.

• Female income liable for social insurance payments in 2002 was 63.3% of male income. After an adjustment for differences in hours worked, women’s income was 82.5% of men’s income.

• In 2004, only 13.3% of TDs in Dáil Eireann were women. This rate was well below the average EU 25 rate of 22.1%.

• Around 59% of women in the Civil Service were clerical officers as compared with only 10% of Assistant Secretaries.

• Life expectancy for men is around 5 years less than for women.

• The proportion of lone parent families with children under 20 headed by women has increased from 87% in 1994 to 91% in 2004.

• Less than 1% of persons whose principal economic status was looking after the home and family in 2004 were men.

• The early school leavers rate among men aged 18-24 in 2003 was 14.7% compared to 9.4% for women. Both of these rates were better than the comparable EU 25 average rates of 17.9% for men and 14% for women.

• Around 95% of pupils taking the higher level Leaving Certificate engineering, construction studies and technical drawing papers were boys. At third level, 71% of graduates in engineering were men while 82% of graduates in health and welfare were women.

• Around 86% of primary school teachers were women but only 51% of primary school management.

• The proportion of women at risk of poverty, after pensions and social transfers, was 23% in Ireland in 2001. This was the highest rate in the EU 25.

• Men were generally more likely to die at a younger age than women, with the risk almost three times higher in the 15-24 years age group. This reflects a greater tendency for young men to commit suicide and to be victims of motor vehicle accidents.

• The rate at which Irish women were undergoing a range of preventative medical examinations in 2002 was considerably lower than the rate for women in the other EU member states.

Editor’s note

Women and Men in Ireland, 2004 is available on the CSO web site (www.cso.ie)

The report may be purchased from:

The Central Statistics Office, Information Section, Skehard Road, Cork
Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2
or through any bookseller

For further information: contact Gerry Brady (01 498 4201) or Gillian Roche (01 498 4202).

13 December, 2004


– ENDS –