Nearly 1 in 2 Britons (47%) say women’s equality has gone far enough

Great Britain data within a global study carried out in 31 countries by Ipsos in collaboration with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London for International Women’s Day shows that:

• Nearly 1 in 2 Britons (47%) say that when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in Great Britain – a notable increase on the 38% who said the same last year, and a stark increase in the proportion who felt this way as recently as 2019 (29%).
• The increase means that, for the first time, Britons are now more likely than Americans (40%), to agree women’s equality has gone far enough.
• However, an almost equal share (43%) of Britons disagree with this statement, underscoring the continued polarisation of attitudes regarding gender equality.
• Overall, more than half of Britons have no preference as to whether their boss (61%) or political leader (69%) is a man or a woman. Further, a majority consider leaders of both genders to be equally successful at delivering across most objectives asked about.

Nearly half of Britons (47%) say that when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough and that we have gone so far in promoting women’s equality, men are now being discriminated against

Nearly 1 in 2 Britons (47%) say that when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in Great Britain – compared to 38% who said the same last year. And for the first time in this data series, a majority (56%) of men now hold this view – up 12ppts from 2023 – while the equivalent figure for women is 39%, an increase from 34% last year.

While the public is divided about how men and women are treated by various institutions within Britain, the largest minority share of the public perceives most institutions as treating women the same as men. Exceptions to this include social media (37% say they think women are treated worse than men, compared to 32% who think they’re treated equally and 17% who think women are treated better), and in political parties (36% say women are treated worse, vs 33% who say women are treated equally and 16% who say women are treated better). 

Similarly, around half (47%) agree that we have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that we are discriminating against men, rising to 59% of men (vs 35% of women). However, an almost equal share (43%) disagree that things have gone far enough and that we have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that we are discriminating against men (44%%), underscoring the continued polarisation of attitudes regarding gender equality in Britain. 

While 66% of people in Great Britain agree that women won’t achieve equality in their country unless men take actions to support women’s rights too (including 65% of men and 68% of women), the term ‘feminist’ remains challenging for a large share of Britons, with only two in five (43%) identifying with the term – an increase of 8ppts compared to 2019. This rises to 49% among women.

Most Britons have no preference in the gender of their bosses or political leaders

Overall people tended to think that male and female politicians are equally good/bad at delivering various objectives. Among Britons who perceive there to be a difference between male and female politicians, they are more likely to think that male politicians are better at treating men fairly, and benefiting the rich. By contrast, the public are more likely to think female politicians are better at treating women fairly, treating those with LGBT+ identities fairly, benefiting the less advantaged, being honest and ethical, treating ethnic minorities fairly, respecting the climate, and spending taxpayers’ money wisely. Men are more likely than women in Great Britain to say that men are better than women at delivering on all objectives. 

Similarly, in a business context, the majority of the British public tend to think that male and female business leaders are equally good or bad at delivering various objectives.
Among those who perceive there to be a difference between male and female business leaders, they are more likely to think that male business leaders are better at treating men fairly, and that female business leaders are better at treating women fairly, treating those with LGBT+ identities fairly, making sure the company/organisation operates in an ethical way, and treating ethnic minorities fairly.

In line with the perceived even performance between male and female leaders, the majority of Britons say they have no preference whether their political leader or boss is a man or a woman. 

7 in 10 (69%) say they have no preference as to the gender of their political leader, with this opinion is held more so by Baby Boomers than other generations (Baby Boomer 84% vs Gen X 74%, Millennial 59%, Gen Z 56%).

Those with a preference are more likely to say they would prefer a man (17%) than a woman (12%), with preference linked to respondents’ gender. Men are four times more likely than women in Great Britain to say they would prefer their political leader to be a man (28% vs 7%). Women are similarly more likely than men to say they would prefer a woman as their political leader (19% vs 5%).

Similarly, in a work context, the majority of the British public have no preference in the gender of their boss (61%), with 7 in 10 (69%) saying they have experience working for both men and women bosses.  Men are more likely than women to prefer a male boss (28% vs 15%) and vice versa, with women are more likely to prefer a female boss than men (23% vs 9Gen Z is further more likely than other generations to prefer a female boss (29%, compared to 18% of Millennials, 13% of Gen X, and 9% of Baby Boomers).

Kelly Beaver MBE, Chief Executive of Ipsos UK and Ireland, says:  

The findings of our research serve as a salutary reminder that the concept of gender equality in the workplace and its impact on our wider society is more complex than we sometimes think. Whilst the boards of FTSE350 companies are now 42% female, more needs to be done to explain the practical benefits that a greater diversity of perspective can bring to business rather than taking it for granted that equality in the workplace will be universally welcomed as a good thing in itself. 
Gender equality can only become a reality if both men and women buy into the advantages of re-imagining the workplace so that it becomes more family friendly for all, not a competition between genders, but our research found that a majority of men now believe gender equality has gone too far. This suggests there needs to be an ongoing national conversation about the practicalities of achieving true equality and how barriers to change can be broken down without alienating half of the population.

Professor Rosie Campbell, Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, said:  

That virtually half the British population think efforts to promote women’s equality have gone far enough is a huge cause for concern – particularly given the trend is going in the wrong direction, with the public seemingly becoming more, rather than less, sceptical of the need to push for further progress. Indeed, as recently as 2019, only three in 10 thought we’d done enough on gender equality. Following the #MeToo movement and the greater focus we’ve seen on women’s rights since, some may have a sense that most key battles have now been won – but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Despite the steps we’ve taken in recent years, there is still a long way to go.
But while it’s important to highlight and address negative trends in public opinion, we should also recognise the positives – and this data also provides some cause for optimism, with a slight rise, particularly among women, in the share of the public who identify as feminists, as well as 69% who say they wouldn’t mind if political leaders in Britain were a man or a woman – far above the global country average of 57% across the 32 nations included in this study.

Technical Note

• These are the results of a 31-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform and, in India, on its IndiaBus platform, between Friday, December 22, 2023 and Friday, January 5, 2024. For this survey, Ipsos interviewed a total of 24,269 adults aged 18 years and older in India, 18-74 in Canada, Republic of Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, Turkey, and the United States, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia and Singapore, and 16-74 in all other countries. 
• The sample consists of approximately 2,000 individuals in Japan, 1,000 individuals each in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals each in Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, and Turkey. The sample in India consists of approximately 2,200 individuals, of whom approximately 1,800 were interviewed face-to-face and 400 were interviewed online. 
• Samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. can be considered representative of their general adult populations under the age of 75. Samples in Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, 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.
• India’s sample represents a large subset of its urban population — social economic classes A, B and C in metros and tier 1-3 town classes across all four zones. 
• The data is weighted so that the composition of each country’s sample best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data. “The Global Country Average” reflects the average result for all the countries and markets in which the survey was conducted. It has not been adjusted to the population size of each country or market and is not intended to suggest a total result.
• When percentages do not sum up to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 percentage point more/less than the actual result, 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 where N=1,000 being accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of where N=500 being 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.