Young men feel most ‘threatened’ by progress in women’s rights, study finds

‘Some research suggests that this feeling of injustice can even motivate citizens to vote for right-wing radical parties who are against feminism and sexual freedom,’ says researcher

Researchers note while gender equality has increased in Western democracies in recent times, this has been coupled with a rise in ‘modern sexism‘ which is ‘working against women’s rights’ (PA Archive)

Men who are younger than 30 feel more “threatened” by progress on women’s rights, according to a major new study.

Researchers, who polled almost 32,500 people across 27 EU countries, noted while gender equality has increased in Western democracies in recent times, this has been coupled with a rise in “modern sexism” which is “working against women’s rights”.

The report, conducted at the University of Gothenburg, discovered younger men were more likely than older men to agree with the statement “promoting women’s and girls” rights has gone too far as it “threatens” the “opportunities” available for men and boys.

Gefjon Off, one of the report’s authors, noted the findings demonstrate young men aged between 18 and 29 “most often agree with this statement”.

Ms Off, a political science doctoral student, added: “The older the men are, the less they agree with this statement. Some women agree with the statement, but to a far lesser extent than men of all ages.

“The results contradict previous research claiming that the older generation are the ones who are the most conservative and opposed to advances in women’s rights”.

She argued people think greater gender equality just advantages women - rather than seeing the “benefits” for wider society.

“Some research suggests that this feeling of injustice can even motivate citizens to vote for right-wing radical parties who are against feminism and sexual freedom,” Ms Off added.

“Possibly, young men who believe that women are outcompeting them in the labour market experience advances in women’s rights as unjust and a threat.

“We need to get better at communicating the benefits of gender equality. Fathers get to spend more time with their children and the burden of being the family’s breadwinner is lightened when mothers in families also advance in their careers”.

Rising levels of unemployment may provide an explanation of why younger men are more likely to be sexist, the study suggested.

Researchers said: "The proportion is highest in regions where unemployment has risen the most in recent years, and where citizens have a widespread distrust of social institutions for example, due to widespread corruption.”

Slovakia was found to be the EU country where the “highest proportion of young men are opposed to advances in women’s rights”, researchers added, saying in some parts of the country, unemployment has surged by 1.1 per cent in the past two years.

Nicholas Charron, a professor in political science involved in the study, said: “More than other EU citizens, Slovaks think that their own country’s public institutions are not impartial, that is, that their social institutions favour certain groups of people”.

He added: “The gap between young women’s and young men’s views on advancing women’s rights is great in Sweden, among the top 10 in the EU according to our measurements”.

Researchers discovered this also plays out in reverse contexts, noting in areas like Northern Italy where unemployment has decreased and people have greater trust in social institutions, young men are less opposed to women’s rights progressing.

In the UK, gender inequality persists, with women heading only five per cent of the top 350 companies. While women make up less than a third of the top jobs in the UK, according to a recent report by the Fawcett Society, the UK’s leading gender equality charity, which also discovered women of colour are under-represented at the highest levels in a vast range of sectors.

Women are wholly absent from senior roles such as Supreme Court justices, FTSE 100 chief executives, metro mayors, and police and crime commissioners, researchers found.