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Nine in 10 women in Britain happy to be female - BBC poll

by Temesghen Debesai | @temesghend | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Monday, 10 October 2016 17:38 GMT

A woman walks past the Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben clock tower, on the day of the EU referendum, in central London, Britain June 23, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble

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Women are much happier with being female compared to 70 years ago

By Temesghen Debesai

LONDON, Oct 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Women in Britain today are much happier with being female compared to 70 years ago, according to a BBC poll published on Monday, which also shows they are more positive about marriage and happier with their choice of husband.

Nearly nine in 10 women surveyed said they would rather be a woman than a man, compared with just over half in 1947.

The poll of 1,004 women also showed 42 percent thought men and women gave up equal amounts of freedom in marriage. Only a quarter of men and women who took part in a survey in 1951 thought the same.

Pollsters looked at changing attitudes to issues including marriage, family life, money, work, sex and appearance.

Eighty-seven percent of respondents said they would marry the same partner if they had their time again, compared to 77 percent of women and men asked the same question in a Gallup poll of both sexes in 1949.

Women were twice as likely to work now than in 1951 with 60 percent in employment today, the survey showed.

The biggest worriers were women aged 25 to 34, with top concerns including their health and the health of their families, not having enough money in old age and making ends meet.

The survey was carried out to mark the 70th anniversary of the BBC radio programme Woman's Hour.

"It's fascinating to see the results of this candid poll and hear women's views on family, work and relationships, and it's intriguing to work out what's changed and what's remained the same since Woman's Hour started 70 years ago," programme editor Alice Feinstein said.

Woman's Hour itself has come a long way since its early days - the show did not feature a female presenter until three months after it began broadcasting.

(Editing by Emma Batha. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit www.trust.org)

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