Willem AdemaSenior Economist, Social Policy Division, OECD

Tokyo, 31st October 2014

Sag Asia/Pacific 2014

SAG Asia/Pacific 2014 covers 37 countries

Among the adult population in Asia/Pacific men

are more likely to have a university degree

Among youngsters: Girls lag boys in

mathematics on average but score much

better in reading…

Source: OECD (2014), PISA 2012 database.

Difference in PISA score points (boys’ scores minus girls’ scores) , 2012

-80

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

Reading (↘) Science Mathematics

…and young women nowadays have higher

educational attainment than young men…

Source: OECD (2014), Education at a Glance 2014

Percentage of the population that has attained at least tertiary education by age, 2012

Women Men

10 Korea

9 Japan

8 Australia

7 New Zealand

6 United Kingdom

5 United States

4 France

3 OECD

2 Germany

1 Turkey

020406080100

%

0 20 40 60 80 100

%

…although men and women often

study different subjects

The gender gap in labour force participation

has fallen in most countries but still persists

Women are much more likely to work part-

time

Women are less likely to be in leadership

positions

Gender pay gaps remain high but have

decreased in many OECD countries over

the past 10 years…

Source: OECD (2014), OECD Gender data portal

Gender wage gap: the difference between male and female wages divided by male wages at the

median for different age groups

…and, gender pay gaps also declined in

many countries in the Asia/Pacific region

Compared with men, women are less

likely to be entrepreneurs…

Women spend much more time than men

in unpaid work in the Asia/Pacific region

Figure 2.10. Time spent on non-market/unpaid work in minutes per average day, by gender

Increased life expectancy and persistently low

fertility rates lead to population ageing and, in

some countries, a smaller working-age population

Source: OECD (2014), OECD Demography and Population database, OECD, Paris

Historic and projected number of persons, millions, 1950-2050 (vertical line denotes year 2012)

Encouraging more women to work can help

mitigate the looming decline of the labour

force in some countries

The labour force projections are based on population projections for persons aged 15-64 years, by 5-year age group.

1. Unchanged: Participation rates by gender and for each 5-year age group are held constant over the period 2013-2025 at their 2012 values; changes in

labour force size are driven by changes in working-age population size alone.

2. Baseline: Participation rates are projected by gender and for each 5-year age group by assuming that labour force entry and exit rates remain constant at

their average value over the period 2003-2012 (2005-2010 for China).

3. Target: The gender gap for each 5-year age group in 2025 is assumed to be 25% lower than its value in 2012. All other estimates for the female

participation rate are obtained by linear interpolation. Where the projected reduction in the gender gap in the baseline scenario is already greater than the

targeted reduction, the baseline projected labour force is taken instead.

Source: OECD calculations based on the OECD Population and Demography database and the OECD Employment database.

Social expenditure levels vary across the

globe

Social spending has increased

substantially in the OECD since 1960

Public social spending levels and

composition in Asia/Pacific, 2009

Source: OECD (2014), Society at a Glance 2014: Asia/Pacific 2014, OECD www.oecd.org/els/social/indicators/asia.

Public social protection expenditure as a % of GDP (↘)

0

5

10

15

20

25

Pensions and health are main areas of

social spending in the OECD

Governments can claw back some social

spending through direct and indirect taxation

of benefit income and related consumption

• Address stereotyping in educational choices at school from a young age; encourage girls to choose Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

• Strengthen support for families and children

• Promote better sharing of paid and unpaid work among men and women

• The long working hours culture needs to change, this will require a sustained effort

• A better work/life balance for more parents can help raise fertility rates

Public policy reform will help, but labour

market practices need to change to help

parents find a better work/life balance

SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 4

General Context IndicatorsGDP per capita

Fertility

Marriage and Divorce

Migration

Old-age support rate

Fertility rates in Asia/Pacific are often above

the OECD average, but they are declining

more rapidly

Timor-Leste

Solomon Islands

India

Asia/Pacific

New Zealand

Indonesia

Australia

OECD

China

Japan

Korea, Republic of

Singapore

Macau (China)

Panel A. Fertility rates in Asia/Pacific higher than in OECD Panel B. Rapid declines in Asia/Pacific fertility

Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 2011 (↘) Difference between 1980 and 2011

0.69

-2.59

-2.09

-1.86

0.07

-2.34

-0.02

-0.45

-1.05

-0.36

-1.59

-0.54

-0.54

-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1

5.45

4.16

2.59

2.43

2.10

2.09

1.87

1.71

1.58

1.39

1.24

1.20

1.12

0123456

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators http://data.worldbank.org/indicator

Richer countries have lower fertility rates and

lower teenage birth rates

SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 5

Self-sufficiency indicatorsLabour force participation

Employment

Early Childhood Education & Care (ECEC)

Education attainment and student performance

Public spending on education

Increased life expectancy and persistently low

fertility rates lead to population ageing and, in

some countries, a smaller working-age population

Source: OECD (2014), OECD Demography and Population database, OECD, Paris

Historic and projected number of persons, millions, 1950-2050 (vertical line denotes year 2012)

Encouraging more women to work can help

mitigate the looming decline of the labour

force in some countries

Early childhood education participation is

associated with lower child mortality

SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 6

Equity Indicators Poverty

Income inequality

Pensions: coverage and replacement rates

Public social spending

Solidarity

Absolute poverty decreased in all Asia/Pacific

low- and middle-income countries

Income inequality is high in Asia/Pacific,

but decreased in most countries

SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 7

Health IndicatorsLife expectancy

Infant and child mortality

Low birth weight

Public health expenditure

Hospital care

Child (and infant) mortality rates have fallen

Wealthier countries spend a larger share of

their GDP on health, and have a healthier

population as measured by life expectancy

SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 8

Social Cohesion Indicators Life satisfaction

Confidence in institutions

Trust and safety

Tolerance

Voting

Confidence in national governments is higher

in the Asia/Pacific region than in the OECD

on average

People in OECD countries are more likely to think

their society is a good place for migrants than

people in the Asia/Pacific region

Trends and levels of voter turnout vary

across countries

Acknowledgements and further reading

www.oecd.org/gender

www.oecd.org/els/social/indicators/asia

With thanks to:

Nabil ALI, Pauline FRON, Maxime LADAIQUE, Luca LORENZONI, Chou NUON

www.oecd.org/social/societyataglance.htm

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