The table compares the proportions of male and female employees in New Zealand in two years 1993 and 2003.
Overall, the employment pattern of men for commerce and services increased throughout the decade, while the opposite was true for the remaining sectors, figures of which declined. By contrast, whereas the figures for female workers in manufacturing, building, IT, and farming rose, the percentages for the remaining categories experienced downward trends. In addition, a significant proportion of females was employed in commerce and services compared to that of males which dominated in the other areas.
As for male workers, their percentages for commerce and services rose over the decade, from 45% to 50% as well as from 14% to 40%, respectively. In contrast, their employment rate in IT and farming dropped by 10 percentage points to reach 70% and 65% by 2003, in the respective order. Their figure for manufacturing fell from 55% to 52%, whereas that of building dropped by eight percentage points to made up 60% by the final year.
Turning to women, their employment rate in commerce stood at 55% initially which then went down to 50% in a decade. Despite observing a decline of twenty-five percentage points, females’ figure for services retained its dominant figure at 60% in 2003. Conversely, their employment pattern for manufacturing and building trended upward, with the former climbing from 45% to 48% and the latter increasing from 32% to 40% by 2003. IT and farming also showed upward trends, with both of them rising by ten percentage points to reach 30% and 35%, respectively.