International Women’s Day (IWD) came and went, with morning teas and combative speeches. We heard about unconscious bias, injustice, imposter syndrome, sexism, the system, expectations, kids, housework, and everything.

Whenever an unquestioned righteous vibe gets traction, my inclination is to do some fact-checking.

I have to be a bit careful. My daughter’s a bit miffed right now, she’s noticed one boy who is obsessively raising his hand and answering all the questions in her university maths class.

I asked her whether this was a form of ‘mansplaining’. She said ‘no’. Apparently, it doesn’t meet that definition, but she’s wanting more girls to answer questions and is thinking through strategies on how to politely tell him to shut up … to give girls some ‘space’.

But, in general, how is it going? Are women struggling relative to men? Certainly, this seems true in Afghanistan, where women are now banned from attending most university courses. Iran is another example, where women are fighting to wear their hair unveiled and there are allegations girls have been poisoned with toxic gas while attending school.

But what about Australia?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is one useful source, it produces each year a statistical series called ‘Gender Indicators’.

Incomes and experience

A favourite topic on IWD is the gender pay gap, typically sourced from estimates of average weekly earnings. The ABS recently reported that, depending on which data you look at, the pay gap between men and women ranges from 8.8 per cent to 28.1 per cent.

What’s often overlooked in these comparisons is the fact that men have generally more work experience than women.

After skill and qualification, experience is pretty much the most important factor in securing employment and pay levels.

Due to a greater role in raising children and a lower work participation rate in general, men have accumulated much more work experience in their jobs.

Since 1978, for example, the whole Australian workforce has undertaken about 714 billion hours of paid work. Of these hours, male workers account for 451 billion, almost two-thirds (63.19 per cent), and women (36.81 per cent).

The latest data shows that the average hours worked by males each week is 39.3, compared to 32.5 for females.

Men typically have more work experience than women, so it is not surprising if there is a wage differential on average. It also helps explain differences in superannuation.

Unemployment rates

Females are recording lower unemployment rates, particularly single women.

In the two years prior to the Covid pandemic (2018 and 2019), the average unemployment rate for all working-age women was 5.2 per cent, compared to 5.3 per cent for men.

In those years, single men recorded an unemployment rate of 10 per cent, versus 7.9 per cent for single females. More than a two percentage point gap.

Post Covid, conditions have got marginally better for women. In the 12 months to January 2023, the average female unemployment rate is 3.6 per cent, compared to 3.8 per cent for men.

For singles, the gap is significant: 7.2 per cent of single men in the workforce are unemployed, compared to 5.6 per cent for women.

Life expectancy at birth

One of the under-discussed statistics in the health industry is the difference in life expectancy.

A male born in 2021 can expect to live for 81.3 years, compared to 85.4 for females.

Just for fun, you can work out the dollar value of this extra life. The Commonwealth Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) publishes estimates on the dollar value of a statistical life year.

These estimates are needed to help evaluate the benefits government programs which are designed to save lives, like anti-smoking campaigns.

In 2022, one year of life equates to a dollar value of $227k.

Multiplying this by the additional years lived by women, means they get a biological windfall of $930k – three times the value of the average male superannuation balance at retirement.

Suicide rate

Men suicide at three times the rate of women. In 2021, there were 18.2 suicides per 100k men, and 6.1 for women.

Violence

Females face a higher incidence of sexual violence (which includes threatened violence) than men, nearly four times greater, yet men face a higher probability of being violently attacked.

The ABS reports that 40.8 per cent of males over the age of 15 have been subject to violence, compared to 30.5 per cent of women.

Homelessness

An ABS 2016 survey found that males account for a higher proportion of homelessness, with nearly 58 per cent of the homeless population accounted for by men.

At the harshest end of the homelessness spectrum – where people live in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out – 66 per cent are men and 34 per cent women.

For those not regarded as ‘homeless’ but still living in marginal housing, such as crowded dwellings and caravan parks, males account for 56 per cent and women 44 per cent.

NAPLAN

The most recent (2022) NAPLAN results show that in every category of core learning for Year 9 students, boys trail girls in meeting minimum national standards. Year 9 is the most recent NAPLAN tested year group.

For ‘grammar and punctuation’, 82.54 per cent of males meet the minimum standard, compared to 90.72 per cent females.

In ‘reading:’ 86.50 per cent males meet the minimum, 92.87 per cent females.

‘Spelling’: males 86.50 per cent, females 94.23 per cent.

‘Writing’: males 79.18 per cent, females 89.29 per cent – more than a 10 percentage point difference.

In ‘numeracy’, while the average test score is slightly higher for males (587) compares to females (581), there are still more females meeting the minimum standard (95.70 per cent) compared to males (94.42 per cent).

These results are translating into higher university participation by women. For example, in 2021, 54 per cent of enrolled medical students were women. Women also dominate the legal profession in every state and territory.

Despite the clear gaps, the most pressing problem in education seems to be getting women into STEM.

Life satisfaction

To introduce the last statistic, I remember an old joke.

A broken man goes to his Rabbi and says, ‘Rabbi, I’m so depressed … so depressed. I’ve lost my job. I’ve lost my wife. My kids won’t speak with me. And I have nowhere to live. I’m so depressed.’

The Rabbi sits back and considers his friend’s situation.

After a while, he says:

‘Let me get this straight. You have no job. You have no wife. Your kids don’t want to know you and you are homeless… And…on top of all that…you’re depressed as well?’

Given the sad plight of males in society today, one statistic really stands out.

The ABS surveys the population and asks people to assess their own life satisfaction, with a score of 10 being the most positive.

Females have an average of 7.2. But, incredibly, men are just about as happy, scoring 7.1.

This might actually be this statistic that most motivates the fire and brimstone of the IWD keynote speeches.

Nick Hossack is a public policy consultant. He is former policy director at the Australian Bankers’ Association and former adviser to Prime Minister John Howard.

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