Well-being - Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2023

Men more likely to report high overall life satisfaction than women

In 2023, almost one in three male (32.1%) respondents and one in four (25.9%) female respondents reported a high satisfaction level with their lives. Female respondents were more likely to report low overall life satisfaction (12.3% compared with 8.0% of male respondents). See figure 3.1 and tables WBB11 & WBB63.

In 2021, a similar percentage of male and female respondents reported low overall life satisfaction (13.1% and 14.9% respectively). By 2023 the percentage of males reporting low overall life satisfaction dropped by 5.1 percentage points to 8.0%, whereas the percentage of female respondents reporting low overall life satisfaction decreased by a lesser amount (2.6 percentage points) to 12.3%.

Although there was an increase in the percentage of both male and female respondents reporting high overall life satisfaction in 2023 when compared with 2021, the increase for male respondents was much higher. There was over a ten-percentage point increase in the percentage of male respondents reporting high overall life satisfaction in 2023 when compared with the 2021 level (32.1% and 21.7% respectively). Female high overall life satisfaction rates increased by 4.9 percentage points over the same period, going from 21.0% in 2021 to 25.9% in 2023. See figure 3.2 and tables WBB11 & WBB63.

Women more likely to report low levels of satisfaction with the financial situation of the household

In 2023, female respondents to the SILC survey were more likely to report low satisfaction levels with the financial situation of their household and less likely to report high satisfaction levels. Almost one in four (24.5%) female respondents reported low satisfaction with the financial satisfaction of their household compared with over one in five (21.5%) male respondents. The percentages of male and female respondents reporting high satisfaction with the financial situation of their households were 19.7% and 17.2% respectively in 2023. See figure 3.3 and table WBB11.

Analysis of the percentages of male and female respondents reporting high overall satisfaction with the financial situation of their households for survey years 2021, 2022 and 2023 shows that the percentage of female respondents reporting a high satisfaction level remained relatively unchanged over the three-year period at just over 17%. The percentage of males reporting a high satisfaction level dropped from 21.3% in 2022 to 19.7% in 2023. See figure 3.4 and table WBB11.

Men more likely to report medium satisfaction score with personal relationships

As part of the 2022 SILC module, survey respondents were asked on scale of 0-10 where 0 is ‘Not at all satisfied’ and 10 is ‘Completely satisfied’ to score their satisfaction level with their personal relationships (family, friends, neighbours and other people they know). Female respondents were more likely to have a high (i.e. 9 or 10 score) satisfaction level with their personal relationships when compared with male respondents (45.6% and 43.3% respectively). Female respondents were also more likely to report a low satisfaction level with their personal relationships with 5.3% reporting low satisfaction compared with 3.1% of male respondents. See figure 3.5 and table WBB11.

Women less satisfied with the amount of free time available to them

As part of the 2021 Pulse Life at Home Survey people living with a partner were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with the division of household tasks and chores between themselves and their partner. The female rate for low satisfaction at 32.0% was more than double the male rate (15%).

In the 2022 SILC, survey respondents were asked ‘Overall, how satisfied are you with the amount of time you have to do things you like doing?’ As with the other satisfaction questions survey respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction level on the 0-10 scale. Male and female respondents had similar high satisfaction rates with the amount of time available for enjoyable activities (19.2% and 19.5% respectively). The rate for low satisfaction was higher for females with over one in four (26.6%) reporting low satisfaction compared with approximately one in five (21.4%) of male respondents. The lower level of satisfaction with the division of household task, as reported in the 2021 Pulse survey, may partly explain the lower satisfaction level of females with the amount of time available for enjoyable activities. See figure 3.6 and tables WBB11 & WBB63.

One in ten women report low satisfaction with job

The rates for both high and low overall satisfaction levels with their jobs were slightly higher for female respondents with 29.1% of female and 28.2% of male respondents reporting a high satisfaction level. One in ten (10.0%) female respondents reported a low satisfaction level with their job, slightly higher than the rate for males (8.5%). See figure 3.7 and table WBB11.

Mental health of women more negatively impacted by COVID-19

As mentioned in Chapter 2, the CSO conducted a series of surveys throughout 2020 and 2021 on the social impact of COVID-19. Results from these surveys show that the pandemic had a more negative effect on the mental health and well-being of females. See Social Impact of COVID-19 Survey February 2021: Well-being.

The SILC surveys in 2021, 2022 and 2023 included the following question ‘Has your mental health/well-being been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during the last 12 months?’ with answer options

1. Yes, has been negatively affected
2. Yes, has been positively affected
3. No, has not been affected

Over the three survey years, female respondents were more likely to say that their mental health had been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, three in ten (30.5%) females said that their mental health was negatively affected. This was down from 50.1% in 2022 and 57.6% in 2021. In 2023, two in ten (21.7%) male respondents reported that their mental health had been negatively affected down from 39.1% in 2022 and 48.4% in 2021. See figure 3.8 and table WBB51.

In 2023, 2.9% of men and 2.2% of females reported that their mental health has been positively affected by the pandemic.

Women almost twice as likely as men to feel lonely at least some of the time

As part of the annual SILC, respondents are asked how often, in the four-week period preceding their interview, they felt ‘downhearted or depressed’, ‘and ‘lonely’. The responses to these emotional well-being questions are given on a 5-point scale, with answers ranging from ‘None of the time’ to ‘All of the time’.

In 2023, female respondents were more likely to report loneliness with 18.0% reporting they feel lonely at least some of the time compared with 10.2% of men. When it comes to not having felt lonely in the four-week period preceding their interview, 72.9% of male and 64.8% of female respondents reported they did not feel lonely. See figure 3.9 and table WBB21.

In 2021, 28.0% of females reported feeling lonely at least some of the time in the four-week period preceding their interview. This was much higher than the comparable rate for male respondents at 16.9%. The female rate dropped by ten percentage points to 18.0% in 2023. The male rate dropped by 6.7 percentage points to 10.2% in 2023. See figure 3.10 and table WBB21.

Over one in six women feel downhearted or depressed at least some of the time

Similar results are seen with the ‘downhearted or depressed’ emotional well-being indicator in that female respondents were more likely to report having felt downhearted or depressed in the four-week period prior to interview. The percentage of male respondents who said ‘none of the time’ when asked how often they felt downhearted or depressed in the four-week period prior to interview was just over 6 percentage points higher than the rate for females (68.5% and 62.4% respectively). See figure 3.11 and table WBB21.