The bar chart compares the distribution of male and female employment across nine different occupational categories in the UK in the year 2005.
Overall, there was a clear gender division in the UK job market. Men heavily dominated skilled trades and managerial roles, whereas women constituted the vast majority of the workforce in administrative, secretarial, and personal service sectors.
Looking first at the male-dominated occupations, “Skilled trades” saw the highest proportion of men at 20%, contrasting sharply with a mere 2% for women. A similar pattern was observed in “Process, plant and machine operatives,” where the figure for men (12%) was six times higher than that for women. Additionally, men outnumbered women in “Managers and senior officials” (18% compared to 11%) and “Professional” roles (14% compared to 11%).
In contrast, women were prominent in office and service-related fields. The most significant gap was in “Administrative and secretarial” work, which attracted 22% of all female workers but only 5% of males. “Personal service” and “Sales and customer service” also favored women, accounting for 14% and 12% respectively, while male figures remained under 5%. Meanwhile, “Associate professional and technical” and “Elementary” occupations showed a relatively equal distribution, with both genders hovering between 11% and 13%.