Press Statement

Preasráiteas

24 November 2020

Go to release: Ireland's UN SDGs 2019 - Report on Indicators for Goal 5 Gender Equality

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (24 November 2020) published ‘Ireland's UN SDGs 2019 - Report on Indicators for Goal 5 Gender Equality’. This report is the fifth in a series of CSO publications which will monitor how Ireland is progressing towards meeting its targets under the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Previous reports published in the UN SDG series were ‘Goal 1 No Poverty’; ‘Goal 2 Zero Hunger’; ‘Goal 3 Good Health and Well-Being’, and ‘Goal 4 Quality Education’.

Commenting on the publication, Kevin McCormack, Senior Statistician, said: ‘Goal 5 Gender Equality’ reports data for Ireland in 14 Indicators divided into three main chapters: End Discrimination & Violence, Equality and Empowerment. 

Data is disaggregated in categories such as gender, age group, vulnerable groups and geographical location, where possible. The SDGs and their associated indicators are, by design, wide-ranging in their coverage. As a result, the Irish data need to be provided from a number of sources in addition to Government Departments, official Organisations, and international organisations such as the UN'.

The 17 UN SDGs are a set of global development targets adopted by the United Nations (UN) member countries in September 2015 to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The UN SDGs are driving the global development agenda towards 2030 (Agenda 2030). They address global challenges including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The CSO has a central role in the identification, management, and presentation of the data needed to meet the requirements of the UN SDG Indicators.

Violence (physical and/or sexual) by a current and/or previous partner since age 15 was experienced by 15% of women in Ireland according to a report in 2012 by the Fundamental Rights Agency, which compares to the EU figure of 22%. The figure for non-partner violence experienced by women was 19%.   

There were 13 women under the age of 18 married in 2019, down from 36 women in 2018. There were 1.2 marriages per thousand females among 16 to 19 year olds in 2019. 

Women held just under a quarter (23.8%) of seats in local elections in 2019. Representation by women at local government level in 2019 was highest in the Dublin region, with 38% of seats there held by women, compared with the South-East region, which had the lowest representation at 13%. 

Women comprised 45.7% of the workforce, however the proportion of men in managerial occupations was 65.6% compared to 34.4% of women in the second quarter of 2020.  

Men significantly outnumbered women as the holders of family farms in 2016, with 88.3% male ownership compared with 11.7% female ownership. This compares with 10.7% female ownership in 2002.

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