This is an IELTS writing task 1 sample answer essay on the topic of employment for men and women in 1970 and 2000 in Belgium, the USA, Japan, and Indonesia

The bar charts illustrate the proportion of people of both sexes at the age of 60 to 64 working in Belgium, the U. S, Japan, and Indonesia in two separate years 1970 and 2000. Overall, there were considerably more men than women employed in all four countries in both years with Belgium showing the most noticeable difference. Furthermore, the percentage of working men in all countries witnessed a significant drop in 2000, and a similar downward trend could be seen among women except for Japan whose figure rose marginally over the 30-year period. Nearly 90% of male Americans were employed in 1970, as compared to barely under 80% of their female counterparts. The percentages of working men in Belgium and Japan were relatively similar with approximately 78% each, while the respective figures for women were much lower, at a little above 60% and 55%. The disparity in the employment figures between both genders was also significant in Indonesia with 85% of men and about 64% of women. In 2000, there was a moderate decline of about 10% in the percentage of men employed in America, while the figure for female Americans almost halved to barely over 40%. The difference between the figures for working men and women in Belgium was more pronounced, dropping to slightly above 50% and almost 10%, respectively. However, the percentages of Japanese employees of both genders were comparatively similar with about 50% of men and 48% of women. Finally, a gap of 20% was seen in the figures for Indonesians with precisely half of the women working.