Being Woman: From equality to freedom

A cultural perspective of femininity and empowerment in China, France and USA.

Culture has become even more important as the world moves through the pandemic. Being Woman is an Ipsos study that seeks to understand what it means to be a woman in diverse cultures and how learning about cultural nuances of gender can support how we engage with women.

The report is a product of curation, using Ipsos assets as well as external sources. Below we outline the overall narrative and some of the key findings.

Advances vs. Retreats

Even with the great strides made in female empowerment, tensions remain for women in many aspects of their lives. Empowerment through equality can add to the pressure of being a modern-day woman as, for many, the gender struggle is about freedom, not just equality. The study discovers a female-centric view of empowerment and how we can enable women in different cultures towards greater progress.

Gender stories across cultures

Gender has a unique culture in different countries, shaped by what women want, the spectrum of gender identities, and the dominant legislations and regulations. This intersects with the larger social culture (shaped over time by men and women) and in turn affects various empowerment initiatives. To be truly impactful, we need to understand and align with both cultures. Ipsos’ Cultural Transferability framework helps us profile and understand cultures – in terms of their similarities and differences.

Accelerating empowerment

In this journey of women’s progress, we identify some gender assets that can help accelerate the process. These include policy participation for women, women-centric approach to design and interface, and the concept of digital fluency which enables women to make significantly faster progress.

To request for a presentation on the detailed findings, please contact [email protected].

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