Women in NSW 2012 - The Workplace Gender Equality Agency

Key findingsAs at June 2011, there were3.68 million women in NSW,representing 50.4 percentof the state’s population.NSW is highly urbanised, with 63percent of women residing in Sydney,the largest city in Australia, anda further 11.5 percent of womenin Newcastle and Wollongong.The remaining 24.9 percent ofwomen reside in inner and outerregional areas, and 0.6 percent inremote or very remote areas.At the time of the 2006 Census,2.1 percent of women inNSW identified as beingAboriginal Australians.Nearly one-third of women in Sydneyare born overseas. More immigrantwomen settle in NSW than in anyother state – over 21,000 in 2011.Table 1.1The median age of NSW women in2011 was 38.3 years – nearly twoyears older than the median age ofmen. A girl born in 2010 in NSWcan expect to live for 84.1 years,compared to 79.6 years for a boy.NSW’s total fertility rate hasbeen increasing in recentyears, and in 2010, at 1.87births per 1,000 women, wasjust under the national rate.Women are having children ata later age. The median ageof first-time mothers in 2010was 29.2 years, compared to28.6 years a decade earlier.Population sizeIn 2011, NSW’s total populationwas 7.3 million people of whichwomen formed a slight majorityat 3.7 million (50.4 percent). NSWwomen represent about a third ofAustralia’s female population 2 .At the time of the 2006 Census,Aboriginal Australian womenconstituted 2.1 percent of thefemale population in NSW.There were just over 70,000Aboriginal women in NSW, upfrom approximately 60,00010 years earlier in 1996 3 .Almost one in four NSW women(24 percent) were born overseasin 2006, while a slightly lowerproportion (20 percent) spokea language other than Englishat home (see Table 1.1).Population size and distribution, women in NSW and Australia, 2006Population compositionNSW breakdownAustralia NSW Sydney Balance of stateNo. No. No. No.Total women 10,056,038 3,320,727 2,090,461 1,230,266Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 230,954 70,028 22,129 47,899Born overseas 2,252,693 793,727 667,381 126,346Speaks a language other thanEnglish at home1,623,453 677,112 620,857 56,255% % % %Percentage of total women 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 2.3 2.1 1.1 3.9Born overseas 22.4 23.9 31.9 10.3Speaks a language other thanEnglish at home16.1 20.4 29.7 4.6Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2006.2 ABS (2011) Australian Demographic Statistics, Jun 2011, Cat no. 3101.0.3 ABS (2009) Experimental Estimates and Projections, Cat no. 3238.0.WOMEN IN NSW 2012 | A PROFILE OF NSW WOMEN5