MEDIA RELEASE	95/2016
31 August 2016	Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)

When it comes to superannuation, the gap between men and women is closing, according to a new report released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The number of people with no superannuation coverage has been declining over the past decade for both men and women, but the difference has halved, down to a 5 percentage point gap.

• In 2013-14, 25 per cent of women and 20 per cent of men had no superannuation coverage.
• 10 years earlier, 34 per cent of women and 25 per cent of men had no coverage.

"Many of the social and economic circumstances of men and women in the last 10 years have seen only minimal change, however the report shows gradual changes in a few areas," said Lisa Conolly, Director of Family and Community Statistics at the ABS.

One of these is that men are catching up to women in completing Year 12. Between 2005 and 2015, the number of male students staying in school increased from 70 to 81 per cent; the number of female students increased from 81 to 87 per cent.

"Something that hasn't changed much over the last decade is hours of work for men and women," said Ms Conolly. "The latest data shows that women continue to be far more likely to work part-time than men, especially if they have children."

44 per cent of employed women worked part time in 2015-16, compared with 15 per cent of employed men. These relatively high rates of women working part time have remained much the same over the last decade, but there has been a gradual increase in part time work for men, up from 12 per cent a decade ago. Many more women work part time when they have young children: three in five (62 per cent) with a child under five worked part time, while around 9 per cent of fathers of young children did so.

For more information about how men and women are faring on a range of social topics, see Gender Indicators, Australia, August 2016 (cat. no. 4125.0), available for free download from the ABS website: https://www.abs.gov.au.

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