Women in New Zealand outnumber men and increasingly are better qualified.
But they continue to be paid less, according to a snapshot of 2001 Census information released today.
The figures released by Statistics New Zealand show that women outnumbered men by 105 to 100 at the time of the Census and the
difference was recorded across European, Maori, and Pacific ethnic groups. Among Asians, women outnumbered men 110 to 100.
The numerical difference is most pronounced in the older age groups where women comprise 53 per cent of the population aged 70 to 74 years and 79 per cent of those over 95 years.
Although 31 per cent of women overall had a post-school qualification compared with 34 per cent of men, among the 20 to 29 years age group 41 per cent of women had such a qualification as opposed to 35 per cent of men.
And 19 per cent of women aged between 20 to 29 had a degree or higher qualification compared with 14 per cent of men.
But the increasing rate of qualification among women -- who now make up nearly half of the work force -- is not being reflected in income figures. In the year to March 2001, the median income received by women was $14,500 while the median for men was $24,900.
Even in the younger age groups of 20 to 24 years and 25 to 29 years, women's median income was between $3100 and $7100 less than men.
The highest median annual income for women was in the 45 to 49 years age group with $22,000 but the biggest difference between men and women occurred in the 35 to 39 years age group where women were paid $17,300 less in median income than men.
- NZPA
