We Remain Committed to Gender Equality, but Half Now Believe it is Coming at the Expense of Men – Ipsos survey for International Women’s Day

Majority of countries in Asia are committed to gender equality, however, half believe that the move to equality has come at the expense of men, a new global study conducted 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 has revealed.

Among the key findings:

• Globally, seven in 10 people (68%) agree that there is inequality between men and women in terms of social, political, and/or economic rights in their country, down slightly from 2017. Most Asian markets echo similar views, including India (81% agree), Malaysia (76%), Thailand (75%), and Australia (71%).
• One in two (54%) people globally say that when it comes to giving women equal rights to men, things have gone far enough in their country which has been gradually increasing since 2019. The Asian markets of Indonesia (80%), China (79%), Thailand (79%) and India (74%) have the highest proportion of people agreeing with this view.
• There are concerns about the impact of equality on men, with half globally (54%) agreeing men are expected to do too much to support equality, which is also an increase on 2019). The Asian markets of India (76%), China (69%) and Malaysia (65%) have the strongest agreement in the region.
• Almost (48%) of people globally agree that things have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that men are being discriminated against. Indians (74%) felt most strongly about the discrimination among Asian countries, while citizens of Malaysia (52%), Australia (51%) and Singapore (48%) displayed polarised views.  
• Three in five (62%) globally agree that there are actions they can take to help promote equality. Throughout Asia, China ranked higher than the global average on this issue (78%), followed by India (76%), Thailand (75%), Malaysia (73%), Indonesia (71%), Singapore (65%) and Australia (59%).
• More than half of people globally (56%) report that they have taken at least one action in the past year and most Asian countries displayed similar opinions, particularly in India, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
• More than one third of people globally (37%) are scared to speak out for women's rights because of repercussions – up from 2017. Asian countries most scared to speak on women’s rights were India (65%), Malaysia (58%), Thailand (52%), Singapore (44%), South Korea (37%), China (36%), Indonesia (35%), Australia (31%) and Japan (25%). 

Hamish Munro, Ipsos APAC CEO, said: "Every year on International Women’s Day all countries take stock of how they are performing in promoting gender equality. Our survey findings show there is still a lot to be done to foster a conducive environment for gender equality. This year’s theme of #EmbraceEquity, lays emphasis on equity, but this should apply for both the genders as men are perceived to be getting a short shrift with no focus on them. Inclusion for both genders is important."

 Ena Rivera, Ipsos APAC HR Director, said: "Ipsos celebrates women and men. We celebrate our differences and make all employees comfortable in who they are. As the best place to work in the industry, we have imbedded diversity and inclusion in the business where all of us belong at Ipsos and have equal access to opportunities. Last year, we introduced work from anywhere arrangement to enable our colleagues to integrate work with life and achieve balance.”

Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India said, “The survey shows that there is inequality between men and women despite all the work done to bridge the gap in providing gender parity. Interestingly, Indians like other global and Asian citizens claim to be taking different actions for promoting gender equality. At Ipsos India we provide an equitable, gender-neutral environment to enable personal growth for all. We provide a hybrid working and now even Work From Anywhere to enable employees to balance their work and life.”

Balaji Pandiaraj, IWD Initiative Lead, Ipsos India, said, “Our new global IWD Survey 2023 data reveals positive outlook towards #genderequality in India. Breaking social barriers, Indians are seen becoming more open, in promoting equality however there is a sense of biasness where men feel there is too much is being expected out of them in promoting Equality.”