A global survey has found that men from Generation Z are more likely than older generations to support traditional views about gender roles within marriage and relationships.
The survey of more than 23,000 people across 29 countries found that nearly one in three Gen Z males believe a wife should obey her husband.
According to the study, 33 percent of Gen Z males said a husband should have the final word on important decisions in a marriage. Among baby boomer men, 13 percent agreed with the statement that a wife should always obey her husband.
The survey defined Generation Z as people born between 1997 and 2012, while baby boomers were defined as those born between 1946 and 1964.
Among women, 18 percent of Gen Z respondents agreed that a wife should obey her husband, compared with six percent of women from the baby boomer generation.
The research was conducted by Ipsos in partnership with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London and included respondents from countries including Great Britain, the United States, Brazil, Australia and India.
The findings also showed differences between generations on other views about gender roles. About 24 percent of Gen Z males said women should not appear too independent or self-sufficient, compared with 12 percent of baby boomer men.
More than half of Gen Z males, 59 percent said men were expected to do too much to support equality. Among baby boomers, 45 percent agreed with this view. Among women, the figures were 41 percent for Gen Z and 30 percent for baby boomers.
At the same time, Gen Z males were also the group most likely to say that women with successful careers were more attractive to men, with 41 percent agreeing with the statement.
Survey responses varied across countries. People in Indonesia and Malaysia were most likely to agree with the statement that a wife should obey her husband, at 66 percent and 60 percent respectively. The proportion was 23 percent in the United States and 13 percent in Great Britain.
Professor Heejung Chung, director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and leader of the research, said that some findings indicated continued support for gender equality.
“I think there are a lot of grievances, a lot of fear of men losing social positions,” Chung said. “And there’s a vacuum that’s being filled with rhetoric and voices which are trying to pitch young men against gender equality, against young women, against migrants.”
Julia Gillard, chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, said that the results raised concerns about expectations placed on both men and women.
“Not only are many Gen Z men putting limiting expectations on women, they are also trapping themselves within restrictive gender norms,” she said. “We must continue to do more to dispel the idea of a zero-sum game in which women are the only beneficiaries of a gender-equal world.”