MEDIA RELEASE
21 February, 2012	Embargo: 11:30 am (Canberra Time)	20/2012

More women participate in cultural activities, but men are more likely to get paid for their involvement, according to results released today from a new survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In 2010–11, over a quarter (27% or 4.7 million people) of Australians 15 years or older participated in a cultural activity – such as dancing, sculpting, painting, drawing or cartooning.

Women had a higher participation rate in cultural activities (31%) than men (23%), but when it came to being paid, 18% of men received a wage, salary or other payment for their participation in cultural activities compared with 12% of women receiving payment for their involvement.

Around 2.6 million people participated in one activity (15%), 1.05 million people (5.9%) participated in two activities and a further 1.08 million people (6.1%) participated in three or more activities.

People aged 15–24 years had the highest participation rate in cultural activities, at 34%. Cultural activity participation rates tended to decrease with age, with people aged 65 and over reporting a participation rate in cultural activities of 23%.

The proportion of participants with qualifications in or related to their cultural activity varied. About a quarter (26%) of participants in fashion, interior or graphic design had a qualification relevant to this activity, but only 5.9% of participants in jewellery making, textile, wood or paper crafts had relevant qualifications.

Further information is available in the first release of Participation in Selected Cultural Activities, Australia, 2010–11 (cat. no. 4921.0).


Media Notes

• A cultural activity has been defined as a selected creative activity in which a person has participated, which has not been done for secondary or tertiary studies. It excludes activities with no creative aspect such as mending or repairing clothes and home do-it-yourself projects.
• For any group, the participation rate in cultural activities is the number of people participating in the selected cultural activity, expressed as a percentage of the population in the same group.
• When reporting ABS data the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.