Celebrating International Women's Day 2020
- Equality
In celebration of International Women’s Day on Sunday (8th March), we have looked at what the UK SDG data says about the experience of women in the UK today.
- The percentage of women in management positions in the UK increased between 2013 and 2017 and is highest in younger women. In 2017, 48% of 16 to 24-year olds in managerial positions were women. This is compared with 38% in the 45 to 54 age group.
- In the last quarter of 2019, the percentage of young women who were not in education, employment or training in the UK was lower than men. The annual decrease of 43,000 in 2019 in the amount of young women in this situation, was the largest since July to September 2017 and the level reached a record low.
- In the UK in 2019 the proportion of men who had recently used the internet was higher than women, although this difference has reduced since 2011. In 2019 this difference was driven by those in the oldest age groups. For example, 54% of men aged 75 and over were recent internet users, compared with 41% of women in this age group.
- Female representation in the House of Commons has been increasing since 1997. The last official figures were reported before the 2019 general election. The House of Commons Library reported that a record 211 (32%) of MPs were women having risen from 27.8% in 1997. More female MPs (220) were elected in December 2019 but those figures have yet to be reported officially.
- More girls than boys reach the learning standards expected for under 5 year olds in England (according to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)). In 2018 77% of girls in England reached at least the “expected” level compared with 63% of boys.
The SDGs framework gives a picture of the UK across a broad range of issues in one place. We are looking to collect more data to go beyond the headline measures to show how the issues they cover effect different groups of the population. The Goals aim to “leave no one behind” and the ONS has committed to the Inclusive Data Charter which encourages an aim to break down headline data wherever possible, including by sex.
At ONS we are pulling together data from across Government and the country to do this. Currently, the UK reports data for 77% of the 244 Sustainable Development Goals indicators.
We are working to find the best data and are experimenting to see where new statistics need to be created. More information about this work can be found in a recent blog by the ONS’s Data Science Campus.