Gender Inequalities

Question 1

Gender inequalities in work and employment

Answer 1

• Women dominate caring occupations, men dominate STEM
• Gender pay gap in 2023 was 7.7%
• Men make up the majority of the top 10% of earners

Office for National Statistics

Question 2

Gender inequalities in the workplace

Answer 2

• UK ranked 15th on the global gender pay gap index
• Women still undertake the majority of care work - Our World in Data
• 80% of women in britain thought more should be done to address sexual misconduct in the workplace - Clark (2025)

Question 3

Gender inequalities in income and wealth

Answer 3

• Income of retired women is less than 40% of that of retired men - Oxfam
• Women only hold 1% of the worlds wealth - UN
• Statutory maternity pay is currently only £184 a week

Question 4

Gender inequalities in life chances

Answer 4

• 80% of women feel that medical professionals have not listened to them
• Women, especially black women, are more likely to experience pain bias
• The number of women who have died during pregnancy is the highest in 20 years - 13.41 deaths per 100,000 births

Womens Organisation

Question 5

Gender inequalities in poverty

Answer 5

• Women are 50% of worlds population but 70% of the poor - Global Citizen
• 52% of children in lone parent households are poor, 90% of lone parents are women - Department of Work and Pensions
• Mothers are more likely to go without food to protect their children - ‘food poverty’ - Trussel Trust

Question 6

Gender inequalities in social mobility

Answer 6

• Pamela Abbot - Social class studies ignore women, Womens social mobility should be studied
• Savage (2011) - Studied social mobility in the 2000s, Men are 40% more likely to climb the career ladder
• Glass ceiling - Women can see better jobs but cannot attain them

Question 7

Male inequalities in education

Answer 7

• Women are 1/3 more likely to enter higher education - UCAS
• Women are more likely to get a 2:1 or above - 79% of women v. 70% of men - Higher Education Funding Council
• in 2015 ~10% more girls earned 5 or more A-C grades than boys achieving the same standard at GCSE - Gender Trust

Question 8

Male inequalities in physical health

Answer 8

• Women have a longer life expectancy than men - 79 v. 83
• Males develop heart disease 10 years earlier - ONS
• Males are more likely to die of covid - ONS

Question 9

Male inequalities in mental health

Answer 9

• 5821 suicides in 2017 in britain
• 75% were male
• Suicide is the most common cause of death in men aged 20-49

Question 10

Male inequalities in work and income

Answer 10

• Males work longer hours - 39 v. 34 hrs - ONS
• David Benatar - least desirable jobs are dominated by men
• Male dominated workplaces are less likely to offer flexible working arrangements - Equal Opportunities Commission

Question 11

Male inequalities in family life

Answer 11

• Warin et al. - Males are still expected to be the breadwinners of the household
• Gayle Kaufman - Men are turning into “All singing, all dancing, super dads” - Fathers are attempting to juggle the role of economic provider with the emotional support role
• 1/8 fathers in the UK work 60hrs a week or more - spend less time with their children - Equal Opportunities Commission