The 62 respondents (43 men, 16 women, and 3?) to this year's membership survey were a substantially different slice of our membership than the 41 who responded last year, since last year the surveys were filled out in meetings and this year the survey went out in the SAGE and the majority of the respondents (62%) said they do not come to meetings. (In fact, handwriting comparisons indicate that this is very accurate - only about 1/3 of the respondents filled out surveys both years, so 2/3 of this year's respondents were new - and both years taken together represent only about 1/3 of our total members and subscribers!)
For this year's respondents, age seemed a more powerful predictor than sex, so respondents have been grouped by age cohorts down the left side of the table. The median age was 46 and the age distribution by sex was fairly similar, although more men were in their 60's; the biggest cohort was the 40's, with 30% of the men and 38% of the women. More men than women returned the survey; the proportion was just about 1/5 of the mailing list for each sex.
TABLE I: BASIC PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS
The first two columns show the high proportion of emblem holders and list finishers among the respondents, 72% and 23% respectively. (Members with these distinctions responded in higher proportions than those without them, as a glance at the table in the article comparing the DPS, SPS, and HPS makes clear.) We will analyze these by sex below, but its good to know that our high achievers do not lose interest in the section.
The 'family life' profile reveals that only 1/3 of our respondents are currently married and about 1/2 have children. Those respondents in their 60's were the 'most married:' 67% of them are currently married, and they were followed by (surprise) those in their 30's, 38% married. With respect to children, two thirds of those In their 50's and 60's do have children, while over half of the respondents in their 20's, 30's, and 40's have no children.
Let's have a closer look at marital status and the question about 'significant others.' We are hampered in this slightly by the three respondents who remain ungendered: one thought the questions too personal, another wondered how the survey could be confidential if it was going to be published, and another answered the question about sex by saying yes, indeed (she/he) liked it. In any case, 23 of the men termed themselves single (19) or divorced (4); 20 (47%) are married. It was a very different profile for the women, most of whom are single (12) or divorced (2); only 2 (13%) are married.