4125.0 - Gender Indicators, Australia, Aug 2015  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/08/2015   
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WORK AND FAMILY BALANCE

The Work and Family Balance section contains the following sub-topics:
  • Time use
  • Providing care
  • Time Stress and Work & Family Balance
  • Volunteering


LATEST HIGHLIGHTS


Volunteering in decline for males and females, but females remain more charitable with their time

The latest General Social Survey data shows that in 2014, 29 per cent of males and 33 per cent of females reported engaging in voluntary work in the last 12 months. Volunteering has declined since 2010, where 34 per cent of males and 38 per cent of females engaged in voluntary work.

Graph Image for Volunteering Rate, 2006 to 2014

Footnote(s): (a) Males and females who volunteered as a proportion (%) of total population aged 18 years and over for each sex (volunteers/ non-volunteers combined).

Source(s): ABS Voluntary Work, Australia, 2010 (cat.no. 4441.0).; ABS data available on request, General Social Survey, Australia, 2014.



Volunteering by age and activity

Females in the 25-34 and 35-44 year age groups were significantly more likely to engage in voluntary work than males in these age groups (30% and 44% compared to 25% and 34% respectively). Moreover, females in the 35-44 year age group were significantly more likely to engage in voluntary work than any other female or male age group. The high levels of voluntary work associated with females and males between 35 and 44 years of age may be linked (at least in part) with parental responsibilities around this life stage.

In 2014, males and particularly females were most likely to volunteer their time to 'fundraising/ sales' activities (13% and 18% respectively). Females were also particularly likely to be involved in 'preparing/ serving food (14%). In contrast, males were more likely than females to engage in 'coaching/ refereeing/ judging' (10% compared to 6%), 'repairing/ maintenance/ gardening' (10% compared to 5%), and 'transporting/ people' (8% compared to 6%).



DATA VISUALISATION

A visual representation of Volunteering rate data, from the Work and Family Balance domain is shown below. Simply go to the graph and click on the 'Play' button to see changes in the data over time.

Details of the data used to create the graphs, and the original data sources, can be found in the relevant Data Cubes on the Downloads tab.

Graph Image for Volunteering Rates, by Sex and Age