Mind the Gaps: Global Attitudes Toward Gender Equality in 2026
The latest Ipsos International Women’s Day Report, spanning 29 countries, reveals a slim majority now think gender equality efforts have gone far enough.
Conducted in collaboration with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, for International Women’s Day (8 March 2026), survey finds significant gaps remain on several issues, particularly between younger men and women.
Key findings include:
- Those that think gender equality has gone far enough up since 2019. A slim majority (52% on average across all 29 countries) say when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in their country. Of the 24 countries in both this year’s and 2019’s survey, 23 have seen an increase in people thinking things have gone too far.
- The majority of men feel they are already doing too much for equality. Fifty-four per cent of men across 29 countries feel they are doing too much, compared to 38% of women. In many countries there are big differences between men and women on this question.
- One in two men think the push for equality discriminates against them. On average, 52% of men agree “we have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that we are discriminating against men”. Only 36% of women feel the same.
- However, some believe things would be better with more women in charge. Six in ten (60%) agree that things would work better if more women held positions with responsibilities in government and companies. Only 27% disagree. On average 68% of women and 53% feel this way.
- Optimism for the future stronger for young women than young men. Fifty-five per cent think young women in their country today will have a better life than women of their parents’ generation. Only 40% think young men will have a better life than men of their parents’ age.
- Women perceived to have more choice about self-expression, but men hold more choice around jobs. Women are more likely than men to be seen to have more choice when it comes to how to dress (34%), dating (24%) and the roles they can hold in the household (22%). Men are more likely than women to be viewed as having more choice about the jobs they can have (39%).
Download the Ipsos International Women's Day 2026 Survey Report
Download the ReportMethodology
Report presents the results of a 29-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform and, in India, on its IndiaBus platform, between Wednesday, December 24, 2025 and Friday, January 9, 2026. For this survey, Ipsos interviewed a total of 23,268 adults aged 18 years and older in India, 18-74 in Canada, Republic of Ireland, Malaysia, South Africa, Türkiye, 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, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals each in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, and Türkiye. 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, 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, Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, and Türkiye 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. In Great Britain, the data was weighted by age, gender, and education. “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 click here.
