14 Nov 2019

Census jobs stats: Women welcome Kiwis into the world, men see them out

2:05 pm on 14 November 2019

New Zealanders are far more likely to be delivered into the world by a female midwife, live in a house built by a man, be taught at primary school by a woman, and get their final send-off from a male funeral director.

A file photo shows a midwife with a pregnant woman.

Some 99.7 per cent of midwives are women, new data from Stats NZ shows. Photo: 123RF

That's according to new data released by Stats NZ, which analysed more than 1000 occupations listed in last year's census.

Some 99.7 per cent of midwives are women, as well as a large majority of obstetricians and gynaecologists.

More than 80 percent of primary school teachers are also women, but there are more men teaching at secondary schools - around 40 per cent.

When it comes to building homes, nine out of 10 workers are men, while there are slightly more female than male solicitors and GPs.

When life comes to an end, men make up around 60 per cent of funeral directors.

If you need flowers for the funeral, however, you'll be served by a female florist 97 percent of the time.

The top three industries for employed women were primary education (45,800 or 4 percent of employed women), hospitals (42,20 or 3.6 percent) and cafes and restaurants (39,600 or 3.4 percent).

For men, the top industries were house construction (45,100 or 3.5 percent), computer system design and related services (29,800 or 2.3 percent), and road freight transport (28,500 or 2.2 percent).