Britons among the most likely to support equal opportunities
Global survey finds Britons among the most likely to support equal opportunities for men and women
A new Ipsos global survey finds the British (94%) and Spanish (93%) the most likely to believe in equal opportunities for men and women. There is less of a consensus in Japan, where rather fewer - 71% - believe in equal opportunities, behind South Korea (72%), Poland (78%) and Hungry (82%).
What about how things actually work in practice? The survey finds 69% of British women feeling they have full equality with men and the freedom to reach their full aspirations. In this respect, the perceptions of British women are very much in line with those in the US (where the figure is 70%), with Canadian women at the head of the table with 78%.
On the other side of the Channel, French women have a rather different perspective. Just 42% feel they have full equality, with only Japan and Spain recording lower scores (36% and 30% respectively).
The survey serves as a reminder that the public feel there is work to be done. In Britain, 69% of the public say that there believe there are currently inequalities in terms of social, political and/or economic rights in Great Britain. This suggests that, while we may believe in equality, for many it is still an ideal, opposed to a reality. The Swedes are the most likely to say there is currently inequality in their country, which stands in stark contrast to their position in the European Institute for Gender Equality’s Gender Equality Index, which found Sweden was the most equal in Europe in 2010 (based on criteria such as: work, money, time, power, health and knowledge).
Simon Atkinson, Assistant Chief Executive at Ipsos, said:
“Although most British women now feel they have equality with men, the British public – men and women – acknowledge that there is more to be done. And outside the UK, our survey serves as a stark reminder that attitudes towards women’s role in society are by no means uniform around the globe.”Technical note
- Other key findings:
- Italians (74%) and Argentinians (65%) are most likely to define themselves as “Feminists” (both men and women)
- Spanish (80%) and Polish (77%) are most likely to say they would support equal opportunities by “speaking out” to change things for women in their country
- A quarter of South Koreans say they are scared to speak out and advocate the equal rights of women, because of what may happen to them
- Only half of Britons would speak out to change things for women in Britain
- These are findings of the research conducted by global research company Ipsos. The research was conducted on the “G@54”wave between February 4-18th, 2014. The monthly Global @dvisor data output is derived from a balanced online sample in 24 countries around the world via the Ipsos Online Panel system. For the results of the survey presented herein, an international sample of 12,047 in 15 countries were interviewed: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. Interviews were conducted among adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada and aged 16-64 in all other countries. Approximately 1000+ individuals participated on a country by country basis via the Ipsos Online Panel with the exception of Argentina, Belgium, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, South Korea and Sweden, where each have a sample approximately 500+. The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval. In this case, a poll of 1,000 is accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and one of 500 is accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points in their respective general populations.
- Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.
- With offices in 86 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.
