Source: cso.ie

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MORE IRISH WOMEN than men had third-level qualifications in 2016, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Women represented 52.2% of all third-level graduates in Ireland in 2016.

These statistics are contained in the latest Women and Men in Ireland report, which identifies gender differences in the activities of men and women.

One in four (25.5%) of all female graduates were in health and welfare. They represented more than three out of four graduates (76.4%) in the sector.

The number of women graduating from business, administrative and law was 23.4%, similar to men at 25.8%.

More than four out of five (82.4%) of graduates in engineering, manufacturing and construction were male, while men represented 79.3% of graduates in information and communication technologies.

Source: CSO.ie

Meanwhile, the report found that the vast majority of those (98%) who were looking after homes and families in 2016 were women. This was 445,500 women compared to just 9,200 men.

However, the number of men looking after homes and families nearly doubled in 10 years up to 2016, rising from 4,900 to 9,200.

Men work longer hours than women in paid employment, according to the report.

In 2016, men worked an average of 39.7 hours a week in paid employment, compared to 31.7 hours for women.

Similarly, men have a higher rate of employment, which stood at 69.9% in 2016, whereas the female rate was 59.5%.

More men worked in the labour force in 2016, at 67.8% compared to women at 51.5%.

Women are significantly underrepresented in decision-making structures in Ireland at both national and regional levels, the report said.

Just 22.2% of TDs in Dáil Éireann were women in 2016 and they accounted for only 21.4% of members of Local Authorities. The average female representation in national parliaments in the EU in 2016 was 28.7%.

The report also looked at the gender differences in Irish prisons.

It found that four out of every five people committed to prison in 2016 were men – 10,209 men, compared to 2,644 women.