Abnormal to be a married woman

Jacqueline Maley
January 20, 2007
SMH

THE number of unmarried women in Australia is expected to outstrip the number of married ones by the time census results are released later this year, according to projections by experts.

For the first time, single women and those living in de facto relationships will become the norm, marking the beginning of a social trend that will change the way we live, socialise and conduct relationships.

"My expectation is that the 2006 census results, due out in the middle of this year, will confirm that there are now more single women than women in married relationships," the demographer Bernard Salt told the Herald. "These figures are moving very rapidly."

The projections follow reports this week that 51 per cent of American women are unmarried, according to the latest US census results, a figure which has increased from 35 per cent in 1950 and 49 per cent in 2000.

The last Australian census in 2001 counted 3.5 million married females over the age of 15, compared with 3.4 million unmarried females. Mr Salt said the unmarried figure will rise over the next decade, bolstered by two streams of single women.

"The first is young people in their 20s and 30s who are choosing not to formalise their relationships. This is a social revolution, really, led by Generations X and Y," he said.

"The second source is older women. In about 15 years' time you'll see the number of baby boomer widows really start to ratchet up."

David de Vaus, professor of sociology at La Trobe University and author of a study on living alone in Australia, said the 1989 census showed 59 per cent of women were married. In 1991 it was 55 per cent and in 2001 it hovered around 50 per cent.

"My guess is we'll go down again with the next census results. We'll maybe have 45 per cent in a registered marriage, but to compensate for that we'll probably have higher de facto figures."

Monique Kinerson, 34, says finding a partner is on the top of her "to do" list but recently she has been too busy buying her own unit and working overseas.

"The number of unmarried women is surprising only in that it's not what our parents did," she said. "I have pressure from my family sometimes, saying, 'When will you get serious?' I tell them I am serious about life and what I'm doing."

But it's not all about the generation. Younger women are more likely to be partnered than their male counterparts, says Bob Birrell, director of the Centre for Population and Urban Research at Monash University.

Their partnering chances also improve during good economic times. But this trend is dramatically reversed in women over 65.

Mr Salt says the burgeoning number of older singles will give rise to new social arrangements for older women.

"We may see the formation of companion relationships, something we saw in the 1920s following the near-decimation of the male population from World War I," he said.

There will also be an increase in venues for over-55s.

"If you look at the groovy inner city, it's all arranged around cafes and restaurants so that anyone aged 18 to 40 can find a partner, but there are no similar venues for older people. That will change."