One in three men believe feminism does more harm than good: Global survey

Ipsos Poll... One in three men believe feminism does more harm than good: Global survey. Mar 4 2022. https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/international-womens-day-2022-us-release

A new global study conducted by Ipsos in collaboration with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London for International Women’s Day shows that, on average, across 30 countries:

.  Only two in 10 adults deny the existence of gender inequality, but views are split on the benefits of feminism;

.  Concerns about online abuse remain, with nearly one in 10 men saying it’s acceptable to send someone unrequested explicit images;

.  Four in 10 adults have experienced online abuse or seen sexist content but one in three believe many women overreact; and

.  Victim-blaming attitudes are found in a minority across the countries asked.

A majority of adults both globally (55% on average across the various countries surveyed) and in the United States (57%) disagree gender inequality doesn’t really exist. However, despite evidence that gender inequality globally has only increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic[1], just under one-fifth agree, both globally (18%) and in the U.S. (17%).

Men are more likely to agree that gender inequality doesn’t really exist than women (21% vs. 14% globally, 22% vs. 13% in the U.S.). In several countries, the proportion of men who agree is double the proportion of women (including Australia, 30% vs. 14%; Romania, 27% vs. 13%; and Russia, 30% vs. 12%).

Men are also more likely to be skeptical about the benefits of feminism and to question the existence of gender inequality today:

.  On average globally, one-third of men agree feminism does more harm than good (32%) and that traditional masculinity is under threat (33%).

.  Compared with their brethren across the world, American men are slightly less likely to agree feminism does more harm than good (28%), but they are significantly more likely to view traditional masculinity as being under threat (45% do so, the second-highest percentage across all countries surveyed, trailing only Hungary).

Women are less likely to share these views:

.  One in five (20% globally, 22% in the U.S.) agree feminism does more harm than good and about one in four (25% globally, 28% in the U.S.) agree traditional masculinity is under threat today.

.  One-fifth of all adults think that feminism has resulted in men losing out in terms of economic or political power or socially (19% globally, 17% in the U.S.)

           Again, men are more likely to agree than are women (23% vs. 15% globally, 20% vs. 15% in the U.S.).