1 in 5 men in Canada believe feminism does more harm than good and more than one-third believe that traditional masculinity is under threat

Toronto, 4 March 2022 — The majority of Canadians agree that gender inequality exists; however, a small minority believe it does not (13%). This is more common amongst men, who are also more likely to question whether feminism does more harm than good, to think that traditional masculinity is under threat, and to say men have lost out due to feminism. However, Canada is among the most sensitive countries (out of 30) when it comes to issues associated with gender bias and inequality:  Canadians are among the least likely of countries to believe that gender inequality doesn’t really exist or that feminism does more harm than good or hold victim-blaming attitudes such as ‘Violence against women is often provoked by the victim’.

These are findings from a new global study carried out in 30 countries by Ipsos in collaboration with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London for International Women’s Day. We will also be featuring this research in our March 8 webinar - join us!

Canadian men are more likely to question the existence of gender inequality and the benefits of feminism

The majority of Canadians (61%) disagree with the opinion that ‘gender inequality doesn’t really exist’. However, despite evidence that gender inequality globally has only increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, over one in ten agree (13%). Canadian men are more likely to agree that gender inequality doesn’t really exist than women (17% vs 10%).

While a gap between opinions held by Canadian men and women exists, it is in contrast with several other countries where the proportion of men who agree is more than double the proportion of women (including Australia, 30% vs 14%; Romania, 27% vs 13%; and Russia, 30% vs 12%).

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

• Two in ten men in Canada think feminism does more harm than good (21%) and one-third believe that traditional masculinity is under threat (36%).
• Women are less likely to agree, with one in ten (12%) agreeing feminism does more harm than good and less than a quarter thinking traditional masculinity is under threat today (22%).
• 15% of Canadians think that feminism has resulted in men losing out in terms of economic or political power or socially, with men twice as likely to agree than women (20% vs 10%).

Canadians are among the least likely to question gender inequality and overwhelmingly believe that women should not have to put up with abuse online

At an overall level, out of the 30 countries surveyed, Canada emerges as among the most sensitive countries when it comes to issues associated with gender bias and inequality:  Canadians are among the least likely of countries to believe that gender inequality doesn’t exist or that feminism does more harm than good. Canadians are also the least likely across the 30 countries surveyed to hold victim-blaming attitudes such as ‘Violence against women is often provoked by the victim’.

Canadians overwhelmingly believe that women should not have to put up with abuse online, with 87% of Canadians supporting the view, this puts the country as the second-highest among 30 countries to hold this opinion.

When asked about various forms of online abuse, the vast majority find them unacceptable. More than nine in ten Canadians stand against various questionable online behaviours and call them out as “hardly ever/never acceptable”:

• Almost all believe that sharing intimate images of someone online without their consent (95%), impersonating someone else online without their permission or 'catfishing' (95%), sending someone unrequested, sexually explicit images (94%), posting someone's personal details online (94%) are unacceptable behaviours.
• More than nine in ten also stand against the use of sexist or misogynistic language (91%), homophobic or transphobic comments (91%) or using racist language (92%).

When compared to the beliefs held by residents of 29 other countries polled, Canadians are almost always at the bottom of the ranks in acceptance of such harmful behaviours online.

Yet, women are more likely to experience online harassment and to feel affected by it

Despite the widely held beliefs against questionable and abusive online behaviours, harmful and misogynistic content is prevalent online.

• Almost four in ten (37%) Canadians say they have experienced online abuse or seen sexist content in the past two years.
• Of the examples of harmful content surveyed, the two most commonly viewed forms are comments or images suggesting men are superior to women or suggesting that women cause many of the problems faced by men (20% and 17%, respectively).
• Women were more likely to say they had noticed both these messages, perhaps being more likely to notice and remember these messages (26% of women vs. 14% of men noticed comments suggesting men are superior, and 22% of women vs. 13% of men saw comments suggesting women cause men’s problems).
• In terms of online harassment, women are more likely to have experienced sexual harassment. A fifth (20%) have been sent unrequested comments or compliments on their physical appearance and 15% had sexist or misogynistic language directed at them (vs. 5% and 4% of men, respectively).

Women also report to be more impacted by online abuse, as among those who have viewed comments or images online which suggest men are superior to women or that women cause many of the problems facing men. The severity of the resulting impact of online harm is underlined as many reported that they have stopped saying what they think online (33%), experienced lower self-esteem or self-confidence (31%) and experienced panic attacks, anxiety or stress (22%) as a result of online abuse.

About the Study

These are the results of a 30-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform. Ipsos interviewed a total of 20,524 adults aged 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, aged 21-74 in Singapore, and 16-74 in 24 other countries between Friday, January 21 and Friday, February 4, 2022.

The sample consists of approximately 1,000 interviews in each of Australia, Brazil, Canada, mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey.

The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. can be taken as representative of their general adult population under the age of 75.

The samples in Brazil, Chile, mainland China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these countries should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of their population.

The data is weighted so that each country’s sample composition best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data.

“The Global Country Average” reflects the average results for all the countries where the survey was conducted. It has not been adjusted to the population size of each country and is not intended to suggest a total result.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the “difference” appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” or not stated responses.

The precision of Ipsos online polls is calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/-3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on Ipsos’ use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website. The publication of these findings abides by local rules and regulations.

 

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sanyam Sethi
Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs
[email protected]

Chris Martyn
Chief Research Officer, Ipsos Public Affairs

[email protected]

 

About Ipsos

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