OECD well-being index shows that women are happier, but men are richer

Story published in Women's Views on News, June 8, 2012


A new wellbeing index from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) finds that women have better social networks, live longer and, in most places, are happier than men.


Men, on the other hand, work more and make more money than women.


But women and men tend to care about the same things wherever they live – education, health and life satisfaction. 


Your Better Life  invites users to rank topics like health, housing, employment and community in priority order. The results can be compared by country, gender and for wealth, comparing the responses of those with the 20 per cent highest and lowest incomes. 


Women in wealthier countries like Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and Australia were the happiest, awarding themselves 7.5 to 8 out of 10, whilst Hungary, Portugal and the Russian Federation rated their life satisfaction at between 4.5 and 5.


Women from Luxemburg earn the most, making over $47,000USD a year on average, whilst Chilean women earn just over $10,00. 


Eastern European women are among the best educated.  At least 88 per cent of women from Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation hold degrees.


Over nine out of ten women in the US turn out to vote compared with less than four in ten women living in Switzerland. 


Women in France, Italy, Korea and Switzerland live for over 84 years on average, whilst women from the Russian 


Federation cannot expect to reach their 75th birthdays.


The OECD said: 


“Today girls outperform boys in some areas of education and are less likely to drop out of school than boys. But, the glass is still half-full: women continue to earn less than men, are less likely to make it to the top of the career ladder, and are more likely to end their lives in poverty”.

UK women have greater sense of wellbeing than men

Story published on Women's Views on News, Friday, 13 April, 2012

Women in the UK are happier and more satisfied with their lives than men, but, according to recent government statistics, they worry more.

Between April and September 2011, respondents to the Annual Population Survey were asked questions about their well-being for the first time.

They were asked to rate satisfaction with their lives, whether they found them worthwhile, their happiness and anxiety levels on a scale of one to ten.

Women scored an average 7.44 overall, against 7.34 for men.

Younger women and older women tended to be happier, found life more worthwhile and were more satisfied than the middle-aged, but levels of well-being started to decline for women over 80.

Women also reported higher levels of anxiety than men.  Female respondents said they had an anxiety level of 3.29, whereas men put theirs at 3.09.

Women aged 50-54 were most anxious, while 16-19-year-olds rated themselves as the most carefree.
What We Do, a recent study of work and leisure activities produced by the Office of National Statistics as part of its National Measuring Well-Being Programme suggested one reason may be because fewer women work long hours.

But women fared less well when it came to participating in sport and fitness activities, widely believed to improve health and well-being.

Only 47 per cent of women had participated in sport and physical activity in the last four months, compared with 61 per cent of men.