Today's report is the first of a series, based on the findings of The Irish TimesBehaviour and Attitudes Social Poll. The poll covers the views, opinions and behavioural patterns of women in Ireland today.
Over the next few days we will be dissecting the various strands of the poll in the finest of detail, with a view to identifying the issues which matter most to Irish women, and how they are construed from a sociological, psychological and moral perspective.
This morning's article covers the broad gamut of career and finance, and attempts to shed some light on how Irish women perceive their increasingly complex role in society as we reach a stage where, for the first time ever, a majority are pursuing a career outside the home.
According to the 2006 census, the total population of Irish women aged 18 years plus now stands at over 1.6 million individuals, an increase of almost 140,000 since 2002. Over that same period, the proportion of Irish women participating in the labour force has increased from 47 per cent to 53 per cent. The corresponding percentage of Irish women working outside the home in 1986 was just 32 per cent, highlighting the dramatic changes that have occurred within the Irish workforce over the last 20 years, and the expanding role of Irish women in this regard.
These census figures are reflected in the findings from today's poll, with 52 per cent of all survey respondents identifying themselves as being employed outside the home. Of these, almost one in 15 describe themselves as self-employed, equating to approximately 50,000 individuals in total.
Seven in 10 of all working women are either married or cohabiting, while over half of them have dependent children aged 17 years or younger. In other words, we now have a majority of Irish women working outside the home, yet many are still faced with the task of managing both a household and a career.
Indeed, further questioning reveals that, of the working women who have a husband or partner, less than 40 per cent report that the partner "very regularly" shares the domestic chores, including cooking and cleaning, with as many as a third of them receiving help around the home only "occasionally" or "never". This is not to ignore, of course, the role of women who choose not to work outside the home. Of those not currently involved in the workforce (ie almost half of all Irish women), the great majority describe themselves as home-makers, with the balance retired, and only a tiny proportion claiming to be actively seeking employment elsewhere.
Before we begin to explore even further the differing needs and desires of women in relation to career and finance, it is worth pausing to deal with some of the more basic facts and figures emerging from the poll.
The accompanying table sets down the amount of money respondents indicated they have to spend on themselves personally each month, once all the bills have been paid.
As can be seen, the average monthly personal disposable income available to the Irish woman is actually quite low, equating to just over €60 per week. The younger woman (particularly in the 25-34 cohort) spends the greatest amount of money on herself, with the cost of rent, mortgage, family expenses, etc conspiring to place additional financial pressures on those aged 35 years plus.
It may seem inequitable to some that the average female aged 65 years and older is left with less than €35 to spend on herself each week, with full-time home-makers relying on about €45 a week for personal expenditure.
In overall financial terms, just under six in 10 of all women feel they are able to make ends meet "easily" or "fairly easily", with four in 10 coping with some difficulty. Curiously, those younger respondents with the greatest amount of personal disposable income claim to be experiencing most difficulty in making ends meet, with almost 70 per cent of the over-65s coping with their lot with ease. The natural conclusion to be drawn here being that, while elderly women have less money available to spend on themselves, their material needs are modest.
Whatever about their ability to cope financially now, it is noteworthy that less than half (48 per cent) of all women in employment outside the home have a pension of any type.
In order to allow us set each of the areas researched within a broader sociological context, respondents were also asked how important as many as 19 different issues are to them in their lives in general. Issues covered at this question ranged from financial matters to leisure activities, through to family and religion.
It is quite remarkable to note that, of the 19 issues researched, the single most important one for Irish women today is that of "financial independence".
As an aside, in the year following a general election, and the subsequent formation of one of the most unusual coalitions in the history of the State, it will come as a great disappointment to the body politic that more Irish women (55 per cent) claim that politics is of no importance to them than claim it is important (38 per cent). Indeed, politics ranks as the least important factor to Irish women out of all 19 measured.
A majority of women, whether they are employed outside or inside the home, feel that women who work outside the home have a higher standing in society than women who work in the home.
Furthermore, survey respondents were significantly less inclined to agree that women who work full-time in the home receive higher recognition from the State, or that they are treated more favourably by the authorities. Meanwhile, the jury is still out as to whether there is any difference in quality of life between home and out-of-home workers.
Finally, respondents were asked to nominate the one individual they would consider to be the best role model for women in Ireland today.
This question was entirely unprompted in nature, with the women role models identified arising among respondents on a purely spontaneous basis.
The accompanying table sets down the top 10 individuals mentioned in this regard, indicating that the current and previous presidents of Ireland have between them garnered 40 per cent of the popular "vote" as the best role models in Ireland today.
It is interesting to note that both Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson, while elected to high political office in this country, also stand aloof from the less savoury aspects of the political establishment which the women of Ireland today seem so alienated from.