The charts below illustrate level of employment of different aged men and women and the typical age of their youngest offspring in the United Kingdom in 2008.
Overall, the most common employment rate is showed at the age of 35-49 for both men and women. The median age of male employee’s youngest child is 6-10, 11-15 and 16-20, while for female it is 21-25.
Employment is highest among those aged 35-49 and 50-59. In these groups, women have slightly higher rates (around 80%) than men (about 75%). In the 26-34 group, females also lead at about 70%, compared to 65% for males. However, both genders have the lowest rates in the 16-25 group, at around 20%.
Men have higher employment than women in all groups based on the age of the youngest child. The gap is bigger when children are younger. As children grow older, female employment increases and becomes closer to that of males.
