Oxfordshire census: Data shows gender differences

It comes as International Women's Day is celebrated this week with women's rights charity The Fawcett Society saying more concerted action is needed to tackle gender inequality in the UK.

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said there is not a single "sure-fire" solution to improve gender equality in the UK, but more action is needed.

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"This Government must urgently reform the childcare system so that it is affordable, accessible, and works for women and employers must make flexible work the default," she added.

We’ve been fighting for gender equality for over 150 years.
We work to close the pay gap, get more women into political power and smash stereotypes, among many other campaigns.
Explore the Fawcett Society's history here ⬇ #InternationalWomensDay https://t.co/0TYRq2WEXY

— Fawcett Society (@fawcettsociety) March 7, 2023

She said: "We simply can't allow this Government to stand by as women's hard-fought gains are lost."

Unpaid Carers

The census data taken from the survey in March 2021 shows that in Cherwell women made up 59.2 per cent of unpaid carers.

This means they were looking after someone because of long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses, or problems related to old age without compensation.

In Oxford, women made up 58.8 per cent of unpaid carers.

In South Oxfordshire the figure was 59.6 per cent and in West Oxfordshire 58.9%.

People Living with a Disability

Across the county it was found that women were more likely to have a disability than men.

In Cherwell, 16.2 per cent of women stated that they were disabled in the census, while 13.8 per cent of men did.

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In Oxford, 17.5 per cent of women had a disability compared to 15.1 percent of men.

The figures were 14.6 per cent compared to 12.8 per cent in South Oxfordshire and 15.7 per cent compared to 13.3 per cent in West Oxfordshire.

Sexuality

The census figures showed that women were more likely to identify with a sexuality other than heterosexual than men.

The biggest gap was in Oxford with around 5,580 women in the area (7.9 per cent of women) identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or another minority sexuality, while 3,870 men (5.8 per cent) did.