Changes in Student Allowances in 2008

Allowances recipients by gender

Between 1999 and 2002, about half of the allowances recipients were female.  From 2003, the proportion of female recipients increased and it reached 54 percent in 2007 and 2008.

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

Figure 5: Student allowances recipients by gender¹⁰

In 2008, the average age of female allowances recipients was 26.3 years and the average age of male recipients was 26.7 years.
The proportions of female and male allowances recipients differ for the various age groups.  In 2008, the proportion of females was higher than for males in all age groups except for 25 to 39 year-olds¹¹. This was likely to be the result of women starting their families and looking after small children.

Figure 6: Student allowances recipients by age group and gender, 2008

In 2008, 63 percent of female allowances recipients were under the age of 25 years, an increase of 2.4 percentage points from 2007.  In comparison, about 57 percent of males were under the age of 25 years, an increase of 2.1 percentage points from 2007.

The average annual allowance of male students was about $90 higher than females in 2004.  The difference disappeared by 2006 and then reversed in the next two years, with the average annual allowance of female students exceeding that of males by $80 in 2008. This difference in favour of females was mostly due to two categories of recipients: a student under the age of 25 years with no dependants and a single student with child(ren).

Footnotes 

10. Note that the Y-axis starts at 40 percent.
    
11. The proportion of females is also lower than males for the 65 years and over age group.