Workforce comparisons examining the characteristics of the workforce within the lifelong learning sector suggested that, whilst female employment was important, women were under- represented in the more senior and more professional employment categories. Figures downloaded from Eurostat, the statistics body of the European Commission, were in broad agreement stating that in 2004, 39% of the UK academic workforce providing tertiary education were women. The predominance of men was similar to that in France (39% female), Spain (38% female) and Norway (37% female), but less marked than in Germany (34% female), the Netherlands (33% female), Italy (33% female) and Switzerland (28% female). Of these countries, the UK has seen the biggest increase in the female proportion of the academic workforce in tertiary education between 1998 and 2004 (almost 7 percentage points, compared with a less than 2 percentage point increase in Norway) (Eurostat, 10 May 2006b). In the UK, in 2004, 30% of the academic workforce in tertiary education was over 50 years of age. Whilst this may seem like a fairly high figure, it is similar to that in Germany (30%) and Spain (29%), and considerably lower than in some other countries, in particular Italy (58%) and Norway (43%) of the academic workforce in tertiary education was over 50 years old (ibid.) This age profile can have substantial implications for the funding of education, and the renewal of the tertiary-education teaching workforce. A recent report for the DfES (Xxxxxxx et al., 2005) compared academic salaries in HE in nine countries. When differences in the costs of living were taken into account, only in the US did academics tend to earn more than those in the UK, while in Sweden they earned considerably less. However, the earnings profile of academic staff in tertiary education in the UK was quite different to those in other countries. For example, the distribution of earnings in the US was quite dispersed, whereas it was less so in the UK, France and Sweden, where the top quartile earners earned significantly more than the bottom quartile earners.
Workforce comparisons examining the characteristics of the workforce within the lifelong learning sector suggested that, whilst female employment was important, women were under- represented in the more senior and more professional employment categories in all four UK home countries. Figures downloaded from Eurostat, the statistics body of the European Commission, were in broad agreement stating that in 2004, 39% of the UK academic workforce providing tertiary education were women. The predominance of 8 The ISCED 97 classification divides the education sector into seven levels, from pre-primary education (level 0) through to the second stage of tertiary education (level 6). The remit of LLUK relates to level 4 (post-secondary non-tertiary education), level 5 (first stage of tertiary education) and level 6 (second stage of tertiary education). men was similar to that in France (39% female), Spain (38% female) and Norway (37% female), but less marked than in Germany (34% female), the Netherlands (33% female), Italy (33% female) and Switzerland (28% female). Of these countries, the UK has seen the biggest increase in the female proportion of the academic workforce in tertiary education between 1998 and 2004 (almost 7 percentage points, compared with a less than 2 percentage point increase in Norway) (Eurostat, 10 May 2006b). In the UK, in 2004, 30% of the academic workforce in tertiary education was over 50 years of age. Whilst this may seem like a fairly high figure, it is similar to that in Germany (30%) and Spain (29%), and considerably lower than in some other countries, in particular Italy (58%) and Norway (43%) of the academic workforce in tertiary education was over 50 years old (ibid.) This age profile can have substantial implications for the funding of education, and the renewal of the tertiary-education teaching workforce. A recent report for the DfES (Xxxxxxx et al., 2005) compared academic salaries in HE in nine countries. When differences in the costs of living were taken into account, only in the US did academics tend to earn more than those in the UK, while in Sweden they earned considerably less. However, the earnings profile of academic staff in tertiary education in the UK was quite different to those in other countries. For example, the distribution of earnings in the US was quite dispersed, whereas it was less so in the UK, France and Sweden, where the top quartile earners earned significantly more than the bottom quartile earners.
Workforce comparisons examining the characteristics of the workforce within the lifelong learning sector suggested that, whilst female employment is particularly important in Northern In the UK, in 2004, 30% of the academic workforce in tertiary education was over 50 years of age. Whilst this may seem like a fairly high figure, it is similar to that in Germany (30%) and Spain (29%), and considerably lower than in some other countries, in particular Italy (58%) and Norway (43%) of the academic workforce in tertiary education was over 50 years old (ibid.) This age profile can have substantial implications for the funding of education, and the renewal of the tertiary-education teaching workforce. A recent report for the DfES (Xxxxxxx et al., 2005) compared academic salaries in HE in nine countries. When differences in the costs of living were taken into account, only in the US did academics tend to earn more than those in the UK, while in Sweden they earned considerably less. However, the earnings profile of academic staff in tertiary education in the UK was quite different to those in other countries. For example, the distribution of earnings in the US was quite dispersed, whereas it was less so in the UK, France and Sweden, where the top quartile earners earned significantly more than the bottom quartile earners.
