Australian women are healthier and better educated than their male counterparts, but earn less, and are much less likely than men to hold senior positions in business, politics or the law.
Figures released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics paint a mixed picture of the fortunes of the sexes.
A girl born today is expected to live to 84, more than four years longer than a boy born today.
Women are less likely than men to be overweight, smoke or drink at risky levels or die from heart disease. But more women will experience an anxiety disorder (32 per cent, compared to 20 per cent of men) or a mood disorder such as depression (18per cent, compared to12 per cent of men) over their lifetime.
Men are more than twice as likely to have a substance abuse problem and more than three times more likely to commit suicide than women.
Women are more likely to complete Year 12 and attain a degree, but their higher average levels of education don't seem to win them higher earnings.
Graduate starting salaries are $2000 a year less for women than they are for men, and the average hourly rate of pay for women is $28.70, compared to $32.30 for men.
Despite this, 62.2 per cent of women own their own home, compared to 58.8 per cent of men.
Men are more likely to have experienced violence in the past year (10.8 per cent, compared to 5.8 per cent of women), but women are more than three times as likely than men to experience violence from a partner.
A greater proportion of women experienced harassment (19 per cent, compared to 11.6 per cent of men) or were stalked (2.5 per cent, compared to 1.5 per cent of men) in the past year.
Men are more than 10 times as likely than women to be imprisoned.
Women shoulder more than their share of unpaid work (more than five hours a day, compared to fewer than three for men), spend more time caring for children and people with disabilities, and are more likely to volunteer. Perhaps it's little wonder 42.4 per cent of women say they always or often feel rushed or pressed for time, compared to 34.9 per cent of men. Men continue to hold the lion's share of top jobs, accounting for 97 per cent of chief executives in the nation's top 200 companies, more than 77 per cent of federal cabinet ministers and more than 71 per cent of Commonwealth judges and magistrates.
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