REFLECTING IRELAND - LIVES OF WOMEN IN IRELAND TODAY
The latest issue of PTSB Reflecting Ireland explores the lives of women in Ireland today. As we approach a historic referendum on March 8th, International Women's Day, we look at four aspects of women's lives in Ireland: financial wellbeing, home life, work life and lifestyle & sport.
Themes that emerge include the need for women to take more control over their long-term financial planning, evidence that behavioural patterns in the home are changing, a strong desire for gender equality in work and sport, and the importance of female role models in working and sporting life.
Strong differences emerge in women’s and men’s approaches to work/life balance and to managing their finances.
Both women and men struggle with work-life balance, but women struggle more.
While almost half of men have a clear long-term financial plan, just over a third of women do. There is evidence of an Intention-Action gap among women; it’s not that women don’t think it’s important, it’s that it takes them longer than men to get around to it.
The difference between how men and women plan for their financial future is most evident among the under 35s. Almost twice as many men in this age group have already set up a pension compared to women (42% vs. 23%), while more women (53%) intend to do so but haven’t got around to it yet, compared to 36% of men. Women have lower confidence in their financial decision-making ability than men, and are also less comfortable talking to others about money issues.
The research also reveals that the workplace is not seen as a level playing field. Two thirds of women (67%) feel they have to work harder than men to get the same level of career progression, and 41% of men agree.
