Half of Australian women lack interest in sex

Half of Australian women lack interest in sex
March 08, 2005
From: AAP
News.com.au

FEWER Australian women are having babies, half are not interested in sex, and they continue to lag behind men in the career and income stakes, a new report shows.
The average age of Australia's female population is also on the rise, and women are becoming more sedentary and more likely to engage in behaviours that harm their health.
The Federal Government's Women In Australia report, released today, has found fewer women are choosing to become mothers and those who do are more likely to become single parents.
Despite gender advances, such as lifting the "marriage bar" in the 1960s, which advanced women's rights as paid workers, they have also been left well behind in the career stakes and earn substantially less than their male counterparts.
A telephone survey of more than 19,000 people in 2002 showed more than 50 per cent of women lack interest in sex, compared with 25 per cent for men.
More than 30 per cent of the women are worried about their body image and more than 20 per cent say they are not enjoying sex.
Like men, Australian women are getting older and less likely to have children.
Those who do reproduce, however, are increasingly likely to be single parents. Between 1993 and 2003, the proportion of women aged over 15 who were lone parents increased from six per cent of all women to 9 per cent.
And while women's life expectancy is growing, they are more likely to spend their final years in ill health.
Women are also more likely than men to have arthritis, asthma and mental and behavioural disorders, but, like men, women are more likely to die of heart disease than any other cause.
Girls and women are also increasingly likely to engage in behaviours that harm their own health.
From 1989 to 2001, women aged 18-24 experienced the greatest reduction in smoking, but women aged 35-44 years experienced an increase in smoking rates.
"Female teenagers are slightly more likely than male teenagers to have ever used an illicit drug," the report said.
"Seventy-four per cent of females are classed as sedentary.
"It is possible that women sacrifice activities such as recreation, sport and fitness in order to find time to undertake child care and domestic responsibilities."
Although an increasing proportion of women are in paid work, gender separation by occupation still typifies much of the Australian labour force.
"In August 2002, the leading occupation groups for women were clerical, sales and service workers," the report said.
"The leading occupation groups for men were as tradespersons and related workers and professionals.
"Women make up just a quarter of managers and administrators."
As well, women continue to earn substantially less than men.
"In 2000/01, female wage and salary earners working full-time received, on average, only 84 per cent of the amounts earned by their male counterparts," the report found.
Men work longer overtime hours than women, but they are also more likely to be paid for that overtime.
In November 2000, 44 per cent of women who regularly worked overtime in their main job reported that they were not paid for this overtime, compared with 28 per cent for men.
The report was released today to mark International Women's Day.