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| Men are still getting a better deal at work and at home despite years of campaigning to promote sexual equality. Men are still rewarded better in their careers than women. The gender pay gap is still very much in evidence and men hold more high-powered jobs than women, even though more women are working. But family life is changing, with less marriage and men are no longer always being seen as the primary providers.
Family life has become more diverse, with cohabitation increasing and fewer men marrying than in the past. While most men live in a married couple family household, the average age for a first marriage has risen above 30 for the first time.
In 1999-00, 53% of 20- to 24-year-old men in England were still living with their parents, compared with 37% of women of the same age. An increasing proportion of men are now living alone. This reflects the decline in
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| marriage, the delay in first marrying and the rise in separation and divorce.
Men also still have higher wages despite equal pay legislation, and "outnumber women in management and in many professional occupations". This is despite evidence that men are now "outperformed by women at many levels of education".
According to the study, the median gross wage for men stands at Ј247 a week, compared with Ј119 for women. The average gross earnings for women peak in their mid-20s at about Ј180 a week, before falling away to less than Ј100 a week in their late 50s. Men, on the other hand, steadily rise in earning potential to an average Ј350 a week for the ages 35-50. Male wages do decline after that, but never fall below those of women. One consolation for women is that they are still outliving men, with a life expectancy of 80 years in 1998 compared to 75 for men.
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