Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watdcsu.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!water!watdcsu!dmcanzi From: dmcanzi@watdcsu.UUCP (David Canzi) Newsgroups: net.women,net.politics Subject: Watch them closely when they quote statistics Message-ID: <1519@watdcsu.UUCP> Date: Tue, 9-Jul-85 17:34:07 EDT Article-I.D.: watdcsu.1519 Posted: Tue Jul 9 17:34:07 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 11-Jul-85 01:04:57 EDT Distribution: net Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 62 Xref: watmath net.women:6297 net.politics:9814 I found the following interesting uses (abuses?) of statistics in last night's copy of the local newspaper. Three pie charts were presented, showing how time is divided into free time, paid work, and unpaid work (usually housework), for three groups of people: housewives, employed men, and unemployed men. The numbers in each wedge of the pie charts were probably percentages, since they add up to values near 100. The sizes of the wedges in the pie charts did not accurately reflect the values of the numbers. The following table shows who has how much free time, according to the numbers, and according to measurement of the pie chart wedges: housewives employed men employed women by the numbers 33% 34% 24% by wedge sizes 33% 46% 17% Ie. the pie charts appear to be deliberately distorted to make the womens' lot seem worse than it really is, and the mens' lot look better. A bar graph was presented showing unemployment rates for men and women in various countries. In most countries, except the USA and Japan, unemployment was higher for women (in Italy and France, extremely so). Lest the reader be fooled by the nice figures for the USA and Japan, the author of the article included a comment to the effect that "In Europe only 42% of women looking for work are registered as unemployed." THE CORRESPONDING PERCENTAGE FOR UNEMPLOYED MEN WAS NOT PROVIDED, and the European figure for "unofficially" unemployed women may be larger than the American and Japanese figures for the same. Another chart showed that the percentage of the work force consisting of women has increased only slightly (from 31% to 35%) since 1950, and not at all (stuck at 35%) over the last decade. The cute diagram illustrates 35% with a picture showing 12 men and 4 women for 1975, 15 men and 5 women for 1985. Ie. the picture looks worse than the numbers, just as in the pie charts. (No interpretation of the possible causes of this 35% ratio was offered.) Another chart was presented showing that women in Africa do somewhat more than a fair share of agricultural labour, and 95% of domestic work. No indication is given as to what percentage of the total amount of work performed is agricultural or domestic, and how much is the man's share of other kinds of work. Thus, the figures given almost certainly exaggerate the degree to which women are being overworked in Africa. A litle bit of advice to you all: 1) When you see statistics being quoted, check for ways in which they might have been exaggerated to support some political viewpoint. 2) When you quote statistics yourself, make sure they are reasonably complete, and really support the viewpoint that you claim they support, 'cause there will always be some prick like me, waiting to point out the flaws. If you fudge the stats and get caught at it, you ruin your own credibility. -- David Canzi "With the exception of victimless crimes (which need not concern us here) every single crime committed in this nation of ours involves a victim." -- San Francisco Chronicle