Nice work if you can get it… how women’s employment hit a high
Sa bad job – with a surge in women having careers and professional qualifications since the Eighties, national survey research shows.
More women are in work as opposed to staying at home with the kids, and more are in higher education, according to an analysis of 30 years of census figures. Just 42 per cent of women aged 16 and over – 8.3 million – worked in 1981. But that shot up to 54 per cent – 12.6 million – with a job in 2011, when the last census was conducted.*
The census is a survey of the populations of England and Wales that takes place every ten years.
The information it gathers helps decision-makers assess communities’ needs and plan public services such as healthcare, education and job schemes.
Businesses use the information to decide where to set up – so creating employment. The census also reveals trends in everything from work to education.
While equality may have done a reasonable job so far, it has a way to go, with women still lagging behind men in the job stakes: men remained more likely to be employed in 2011, with 64 per cent – 14.1 million – in work.
While changing attitudes to women as homemakers and workers have resulted in fewer females choosing to look after go out to work, women are also much more likely to get a degree or similar qualification.
In 1981, women made up
43 per cent of adults with degrees and professional qualifications. By 2011, 50 per cent of adults with a ‘level 4’ qualification or above (degrees, higher degrees and work-related qualifications) were female. The next census is on March 21 but the question is: will it reveal that equality has done a better job for women in work?
Census 2021 will be the first digital-first census. You can complete yours using the access code you received in the post. This will allow you to complete the questionnaire on a laptop, mobile phone or tablet. If you can’t complete the census online, you can request a paper form.
The census will include questions about your:
SEX EDUCATION AGE HOUSEHOLD WORK SIZE HEALTH ETHNICITY
For the first time, there will also be a question asking whether you’ve served in the armed forces, as well as voluntary questions (for those aged 16 and over) on sexual orientation and gender identity.
*As well as the unemployed, the number not in work includes people who are not looking for a job or available to start work, for example because they are a stay-at-home parent, retired, a student, or too ill to work.