Report considers how women and men in Ireland are treated in employment, education and health.
A report by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) 'Women and Men 2004' contrasts the position of men and women in Ireland and in the European Union under a number of headings.
The research will be used as a framework for social policy. One of the key findings is that women earn around two thirds of what their male colleagues earn. However, men work an average of ten hours more than women every week.
The report shows that 99% of those looking after the home and family are women, and 97% of single parents are women.
Irish women can expect to live on average five years longer than men with life expectancy for women at 80 years.
Donal Garvey of the CSO notes that,
When you standardise for working time, women's income is about eighty two or three per cent of male income.
The report also indicates that women are underrepresented in the higher ranks of the civil service.
Trade Union leaders including Róisín Calendar (ICTU) point to poor childcare facilities and a lack of flexibility for parents as the cause of the gender gap.
For every one hundred men, there are one hundred and one women making Ireland the most gender balanced of all EU member states.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 13 December 2004. The reporter is Eileen Whelan.
