International Women's Day: What Census 2021 shows about females in Peterborough

From unpaid carers to disability, the recent census has revealed areas where there are significant differences for men and women in Peterborough.

The census survey taken across England and Wales in March 2021 shows of the 215,673 usual residents in Peterborough, 109,067 are women – accounting for 50.6% of the area's population.

In Peterborough, women made up 58.9% of unpaid carers, meaning they were looking after someone because of long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses, or problems related to old age without compensation.

This is similar to the trend across England and Wales where there are approximately 2.8 million female unpaid carers and approximately 1.9 million male unpaid carers.

Additionally, women in Peterborough were more likely to have a disability than men, with 19.6% of women stating they were disabled in the census, while 16.9% of men did.

The recent census also revealed 6,695 people in Peterborough had previously served in the UK armed forces. Just 985 (14.7%) of them were women.

‘Reform childcare system’

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said there is not a single "sure-fire" solution to improve gender equality in the UK, but more action is needed.

"This Government must urgently reform the childcare system so that it is affordable, accessible, and works for women and employers must make flexible work the default," she added.

She said: "We simply can't allow this Government to stand by as women's hard-fought gains are lost."

The survey also highlighted women in Peterborough were more likely than men to identify with a sexuality other than heterosexual.

Figures show around 2,520 women in the area (2.9% of women) identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or another minority sexuality, while 2,045 men (2.5%) did.

Across England and Wales, females (3.3%) were more likely to have identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or another minority sexual orientation than males (3%).

Census data shows 75.9% of women in the area identified as white, 4% as black, 13.9% as Asian, 3.5% as mixed and 2.6% as another ethnicity.