Changes in Student Allowances in 2007

Allowances recipients by gende

From 1999 to 2002, about half of the allowances recipients were female. Since then, the proportion of female recipients increased and reached 54 percent in 2007.

The increase in the proportion of female allowances recipients resulted from the increase in participation of women in tertiary education.

In 2007, the average age of female allowances recipients was 26.9 years and the average age of male recipients was 27.3 years.

Figure 6:  Student allowances recipients by gender, 1999 - 2007¹

The proportions of females and males differ for different age groups.  The proportions of females are lower than for males for the age group 25 to 39 only. This is likely to be the result of women starting their families and looking after small children.

In 2007, 60 percent of female allowances recipients were under the age of 25, an increase by 2.8 percentage points from 2006.  In comparison, about 55 percent of males were under the age of 25, an increase by 3.2 percentage points from 2006.

The average annual allowance of male students was about $90 higher than females in 2004.  The difference disappeared by 2006 and in 2007 the average annual allowance of female students exceeded that of males by $35.  The difference was mostly due to the two categories of recipients: a single student with child(ren) and a student under the age of 25 with no dependents.

Figure 7:  Student allowances recipients by age group and gender, 2007

Footnote

1. Y-axis starts from 40 percent.