Social Security Experience Panels - panel members: full report - 2020 update

This report provides demographic information about the Social Security Experience Panels. It also summarises feedback from panel members about their experiences of being a member of the panels and how this could be improved.

This document is part of a collection


Age and Gender

New panel members

We asked new panel members about their age and gender. [8] 320 people responded to this question.

73 per cent of these respondents identified as a “woman/ girl”, 25 per cent as a “man/boy”.

When asked about their gender, 1 per cent of respondents said that they identified in another way. However, more detailed breakdowns of this group cannot be published to avoid the possibilty of individuals being identified.

One per cent of these respondents preferred not to say their gender. Due to the small number of people who responded this way, the breakdown of these groups by age are not included in the table below.

Three per cent said that they were aged between 16 and 24. 27 per cent said they were aged between 25 and 44. 46 per cent said they were aged between 45 and 59, and 24 per cent said they were aged over 60.

Table 1: New panel members - respondents by age and gender (n=320)
Woman / girl % Woman / Girl Man / boy % Man / boy
16-24 <10 3% <10 0%
25-44 71 22% 12 4%
45-59 108 34% 35 11%
60-79 44 14% 32 10%
80 or over <10 0% <10 0%
Total 232 73% 81 25%

All panel members

Across a number of different ‘About You’ surveys, we have asked panel members about their age and gender. Responses from 1,530 panel members are available to be presented in Table 2.[9]

65 per cent of respondents identified as “female” or as a “woman/ girl”, 33 per cent as “male” or as a “man/boy”.

When asked about their gender, 1 per cent of respondents said that they identified in another way. However, more detailed breakdowns of this group cannot be published to avoid the possibilty of individuals being identified.

One per cent of these respondents preferred not to say their gender. Due to the small number of people who responded this way, the breakdown of these groups by age have not been included in the table below.

Almost three quarters (73 per cent) of respondents were over the age of 45. A quarter (27 per cent) were over the age of 60.

Table 2: All panel members - respondents by age and gender (n=1,530)
Woman / girl % Woman / girl Man / boy % Man / boy
15 or under <10 0% <10 0%
16-24 19 1% <10 0%
25-44 263 17% 85 6%
45-59 472 31% 238 16%
60-79 235 15% 172 11%
80 or over <10 0% <10 0%
Total 998 65% 509 33%

Compared to available responses from the 2018 findings, panel membership by age and gender has stayed proportionately similar.[10]

Contact

Email: socialsecurityexperience@gov.scot

Back to top