Ten things you never knew about... women

Today is International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the achievements of women. This year’s theme is “Pledge For Parity”.

1. Around the world there are around 106 males born for every 100 females…

2. … but because women tend to live longer than men, the percentage of women increases with age. There are only 79 men aged over 65 per 100 women.

3. Qatar has the highest male ratio, with 2.87 males per female.

4. The Northern Mariana Islands have the highest female ratio with only 0.77 males per female.

5. Worldwide, the average life expectancy stands

at 68.5 years for men and 73.5 years for women.

6. Until 1922, under the common law “doctrine of coercion” a woman in the UK who committed a crime in her husband’s presence was presumed to have been coerced by him so was not guilty.

7. Every 90 seconds somewhere in the world, a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth.

8. The average adult woman in the UK owns 19 pairs of shoes.

9. Car heaters, fire escapes, dishwashers, circular saws, chocolate chip cookies and rectangular bottomed paper bags were all invented by women.

10. Only 48 women have been awarded Nobel Prizes compared with 822 men.