More than half of Australians (51 per cent) believe that things have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that men are being discriminated against, according to a new global study conducted in in 32 countries by Ipsos in collaboration with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London for International Women’s Day.
More than seven in 10 Australians (71 per cent) agree there is currently inequality between men and women in terms of social, political, and/or economic rights in their country. Across most measures Ipsos reported a gap between the views of men and women regarding gender equality.
Australian key findings
- In line with the global average, 71 per cent of Australians agree there is currently inequality between men and women. Women are more likely to agree than men (79 per cent vs. 63 per cent)
- Half of Australians (50 per cent) believe equality between men and women will be achieved in their lifetime however this is significantly lower than the global average (55 per cent).
- Three in five Australians (64 per cent) believe that women won’t achieve equality in their country unless men take action to support women’s rights. Again, women are more likely to agree than men (70 per cent vs. 57 per ent).This has reverted to pre-COVID levels (2019: 63 per cent) after a high of 73 per cent in 2022.
- Significantly below the global average, Australians are less likely to agree that things have gone far enough in their country when it comes to giving women equal rights with men (43 per cent Australia vs. 54 per cent global). This belief has increased by eight points since last year (2022: 35 per cent) and 11 points since pre-COVID(2019: 32 per cent).
- Australian women are more likely to agree that gender equality is good for both genders (64 per cent of women vs. 48 per cent of men), whereas Australian men are more likely to agree that gender equality mainly benefits women (29 per cent of men vs. 14 per cent of women).
- One in three Australians (33 per cent) report having witnessed at least one of several forms of gender discrimination in the past year.
- In Australia 43 per cent (54 per cent globally) say that when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough.
- There are concerns about the impact of equality on men:
- 43 per cent of Australians (54 per cent globally) agree that men are expected to do too much to support equality. Globally and in Australia, this has increased since 2019 and men are much more likely than women to agree with this statement.
- More than half of Australians (51 per cent) (48 per cent globally) agree that things have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that men are being discriminated against. There is much higher agreement among men: in Australia, the gap is 20 points – 60 per cent of men agree versus only 41 per cent of women.
While 59 per cent of Australians(62 per cent globally) agree there are actions they can take to help promote equality, Australians are less likely to report they have taken at least one action in the past year (52 per cent vs 62 per cent global average). However, there is also evidence of barriers, with three in 10 in Australia (and 37 per cent globally) feeling scared to speak out for women’s rights because of what might happen to them, increasing since 2017.
Ipsos Australia Public Affairs Senior Research Manager, Nonie Finlayson, said: “The findings from this Ipsos research suggest that gender equality still has a way to go. We are seeing an increasing concern globally and in Australia about the impact of equality on men. There is also a large gender gap, particularly around the belief that men are being discriminated against and this, coupled with the growing fear around speaking out, will be the challenge moving forward for achieving equality. Both here in Australia and globally, we see strong agreement that men are needed to achieve equality.”
