EEO TRUST PRESS RELEASE, July 9, 2009

Professions face demographic crunch

If you get the feeling that law and medicine these days are dominated by younger women and older men, you’d be right. A new analysis of the age and gender profiles of more than 30 professions shows skews in various fields – which could pose problems in future.

The Equal Employment Opportunities Trust (EEO Trust) analysis of 1991-2006 Census data shows that professions currently dominated by older men and younger women – such as law, medicine, veterinary medicine and planning – are likely to experience a double blow over the next decade. As large numbers of older workers approach the traditional retirement years, some younger women may leave to have children.

“Our analysis shows that a number of professions, such as law and medicine, have workforces dominated by older men and younger women,” says EEO Trust Chief Executive Philippa Reed.

“Employers who also have an ageing workforce may be facing the likelihood of large numbers of older people retiring or wanting reduced hours, and some of the young women leaving the workforce or moving to part-time hours at the same time.”

On average, today’s lawyers are younger than they were in 1991 and there are proportionally more women. In 1991, 24% of lawyers were women; by 2006 they totalled 42%. In 1991, male lawyers tended to be in their early 40s, but by 2006 the largest proportion of male lawyers was aged over 50.

“This indicates an ageing group of male lawyers and more young women than men joining the profession,” says Dr Reed. “The data suggests that a number of women join the profession and work as lawyers for a number of years before leaving.”

Women are also more likely to become doctors than they were 15 years ago. In 1991, just 27% of New Zealand’s doctors were women, rising to 40% in 2006. Like women lawyers, a number of women doctors appear to leave the profession in their late 20s and early 30s, beginning to return in their late 30s and early 40s. 

In accountancy, men dominate among the over-50s and women in the younger age groups, but the figures suggest that women are joining the profession at all ages.

Businesses employing a combination of ageing men and young women face the twin challenge of retaining women once they have children and finding more flexible options for older men who want to reduce a 50-60 hour week, says Dr Reed. “This might be through flexible working options such as working from home, part-time work and flexible start and finishing times.

She adds: “These types of options are not just for women. They support anyone with caring responsibilities, including the increasing numbers of fathers who want to be more involved in childcare.  “They also support older people as they move towards retirement, and may help keep older people in the workforce for longer.”

The report, Workplace Age and Gender: Trends and Implications, aims to raise awareness of demographic issues for employers and assist with workplace planning. It shows that most occupational groups are ageing, with particularly mature workforces in bus and railway-engine driving, all levels of the education sector, nursing, midwifery, social work, and fitting and turning.

 “These are fields where companies should be particularly aware of succession planning and skill-loss issues with potential mass retirement in years to come,” says Dr Reed.  

Younger people predominate in IT, media, banking, call centres, policy analysis, science, and catering – which poses its own problems for the future. 

“Those who traditionally tend to employ younger people are facing a declining number of young people entering the workforce,” says Dr Reed. “They may need to try to attract older people, or compete more strongly for the relatively scarce younger workers.”

See www.eeotrust.org.nz/toolkits/older_workers.cfm for 12 tips on making the most of older workers.

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