Women in Northern Ireland 2023

The latest Women in Northern Ireland statistical publication was released today (26th November 2024) by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA).

A consistent feature of the labour market is higher employment and unemployment rates for males and higher economic inactivity rates for females. These features are explored using estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) individual annual datasets and household quarterly datasets, in addition to other applicable data sources.

Key Points:

• The employment rate for females in NI has been consistently lower than for males over the past ten years. For most of the last 10 years the number of female employees has been slightly higher than male employees (+15,000 in 2023), however, the number of self-employed males was just under three times the number of self-employed females.
• Over 3 in 5 female employees were in flexible work compared to just under half of males. Females reported lower levels of involvement in decision making (6pps lower), support from line management (5pps lower), opportunities for career progression (5pps lower) and a lower proportion with earnings above the Real Living Wage (5pps lower) than males. Females were also more likely than males to have been bullied or harassed in work (5pps more than males).
• Although the gap in male and female earnings has decreased over the past 20 years, in 2023, considering all employees regardless of working pattern, females earned 7.8% less than males in NI i.e. for every £1 earned by men, women earned 92p.
• Males were more likely to work full-time than females. Furthermore, approximately 60% of employed women with dependent children worked full-time, compared to 96% of employed males with dependent children.
• Although the female economic inactivity rate has been declining in recent years, in 2023, just under three in ten working age women were economically inactive, compared to just over one in five men.
• The most common reason for economic inactivity among women (32%) and men (40%) in 2023 was long term sickness. The biggest difference in economic inactivity between males and females in 2023 was in the number citing family/home as their reason for inactivity. For men, this was the least common reason (8%), in contrast to one in four inactive women (25%).
• Approximately eight in ten women (79%) with dependent children were economically active in 2023, compared with 94% of men with dependent children.
• The largest difference between men and women with dependent children was for those with pre-school children. The economic activity rate for women with pre-school age children (70%) was substantially lower (by 26pps) than for men with pre-school age children (95%).

The full report and tables are available on the Women in Northern Ireland 2023 page.

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