Women finding it harder than men

New polling just published by Ipsos-MORI gives us a good snapshot of how the Britain is coping with the coronavirus crisis. Some key details:

Women are significantly more likely to be finding it harder. Three-quarters (72%) are struggling to look forward to the future compared to around half of men (51%). Youngsters are also finding it harder to be positive. Two-thirds (67%) of 18-34-year olds are finding it more difficult, while only half (54%) of 55-75s have the same outlook.

Parents are also finding it harder to keep positive. Those with at least one child aged 17 or under in their household have a bleaker view of the future, seven in ten (69%) of this group are finding it harder to stay positive about the future since the coronavirus crisis, while only six in ten (59%) Britons without a child present in the household say the same.

Day-to-day isn’t as bad. Although still difficult, it is slightly easier for people to stay positive day-to-day. Just over half (55%) of Britons say they are finding it harder to stay positive daily since the start of the coronavirus crisis, while 41% say it has stayed the same.

Similar to positivity for the future, women and younger generations are finding it harder to stay upbeat. While two-thirds (65%) of women are struggling to remain optimistic on a daily basis, 45% of men are having the same difficulties.  Forty-four percent of 55-75s are finding daily positivity harder than before, compared to a majority (56%) of 18-34-year olds feeling the effects.

It will be interesting to monitor this as time moves on. At the moment a real problem is that we have no idea how long this is going to go on for.

Mike Smithson