Article #255388

Global survey shows young men hold more traditional views about gender roles than older generations

Almost a third of generation Z men think a wife should obey her husband, according to a global survey of 23,000 people that found young men hold more traditional views about gender roles than older generations.

A third (33%) of gen Z men also said a husband should have the final word on important decisions, according to the 29-country survey which included Great Britain, the US, Brazil, Australia and India.

Almost a quarter (24%) of gen Z men think women should not appear too independent or self-sufficient, compared with 12% of baby boomer men.

Attitudes toward sexual norms also differed sharply across generations, with 21% of gen Z men thinking a “real woman” should never initiate sex, compared with only 7% of baby boomer men.

More than half (59%) of gen Z men said men were expected to do too much to support equality, compared with 45% of baby boomer men. For women, the proportions were 41% and 30% respectively.

Thirty percent of gen Z men believed men should not say “I love you” to their friends, compared with 20% of baby boomer men and 21% of gen Z women.

Twenty-one percent of gen Z men believed that men who took part in caregiving for children were less masculine than those who did not, compared with 8% of baby boomer men and 14% of gen Z women.

Both genders felt women had more choice in dating and relationships (22%), household roles (24%) and the clothes they can wear (34%), while men were considered to have more choice in hobbies (18%) and jobs (39%).