Younger women, older men dominate professions

Younger women and older men are dominating professions such as law and medicine, an Equal Employment Opportunities Trust (EEO) study suggests.

The study, Workplace Age and Gender: Trends and Implications, looked at census data from 1991 to 2006 and showed a skewing of demographics in various professional fields.

Professions including law, medicine, veterinary medicine and planning were likely to face a "double blow", as older workers retired and younger women left to have children, EEO Trust chief executive Philippa Reed said.

The percentage of female lawyers had almost doubled, from 24 percent in 1991 to 42 percent in 2006, she said.

The percentage of female doctors had likewise increased, from 27 percent in 1991 to 40 percent in 2006.

As well as proportionally fewer men becoming lawyers, the average age of male lawyers was increasing - in 1991, they tended to be in their early 40s, while in 2006 most were over 50.

Researchers found women working as doctors and lawyers appeared to leave the profession in their late 20s and early 30s, then returned in their late 30s and early 40s.

They also found older people tended to work as bus and railway-engine drivers, in education, 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," Dr Reed said.

Younger people tended to work more in information technology, media, banking, call centres, policy analysis, science, and catering professions.

"Those who traditionally tend to employ younger people are facing a declining number of young people entering the workforce," Dr Reed said.

"They may need to try to attract older people, or compete more strongly for the relatively scarce younger workers."

- NZPA