In a survey ironically conducted for International Women’s Day (which was on March 8), a day to celebrate women’s achievements and progress toward gender equality, it seems there’s new evidence of backward progress — thanks to Gen Z men.
The survey was led by the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London and Ipsos, a market research firm, and 23,000 men and women of all ages across 29 countries participated. The results show several significant differences of opinion on issues between Gen Z men and women and Gen Z men and generations of men before them.
One of the major findings? Over 30% of Gen Z men believe that women should “obey” their husbands — 29% of Millennial men, 21% of Gen X men and 13% of Baby Boomer men agreed. Agreement between the genders was at its lowest with Baby Boomers (6% of women), but results show a steady increase in agreement with women through each generation. (About 18% of Gen Z women agreed).
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It’s like a trad wife, but for menSome of the other key findings about Gen Z men’s opinions toward gender roles and relationships are…also pretty grim. A quarter of them reportedly think women shouldn’t look too “independent or self-sufficient” — 22% of Millennial men, 16% of Gen X men and 12% of Baby Boomer men agreed.
Their outlook on sex wasn’t too healthy, either. About 21% of them also think “real women” shouldn’t initiate sex. There’s a big jump here between generations: 16% of Millennial men, 12% of Gen X men and 7% of Baby Boomer men agreed. (That’s personally OK by me — they can have all the imaginary women, in that case). Almost 25% of Gen Z and Millennial men think “a real man” shouldn’t say no to sex, compared to 19% of Gen X and 16% of Baby Boomers who agreed.
When it comes to women’s rights and gender equality, nearly 60% of them said they felt they’re required to do “too much” to support the cause, and 56% of Millennial men, 53% of Gen X men and 45% of Baby Boomer men agreed. Nearly 60% of them also said women’s equality has gone so far that men are now being discriminated against — 54% of Millennial men, 52% of Gen X men and 42% of Baby Boomers agreed.
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And they may just be onto somethingDebates over traditional household roles also did not have optimistic outcomes. Over 20% believe that men who take on caregiving roles are less masculine than those who don’t, and 19% of Millennial men, 12% of Gen X men and 8% of Baby Boomers agreed. Over 30% of them said problems in a marriage are caused by a husband wanting to stay home and take care of kids while their wife works, and 29% of Millennial men, 23% of Gen X men and 16% of Baby Boomers agreed.
If there’s one pattern that’s consistent here, it’s that Gen Z men show heightened data for pretty much all of these questions. Through many decades, there’s a clear pattern indicating an increase in traditionally held ideals among men that’s now peaking within Gen Z.
Why Isn’t Gen Z Having Sex?
According to a new study, Gen Z has little interest in dating, having sex or having children, and they’re using AI to forge relationshipsIn a statement, Heejung Chung, director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, said the results were “deeply concerning” and “troubling” to see people feel pressured by societal expectations that aren’t reflecting real beliefs.
“Our data reveals a striking gap between people’s personal views, which are far more progressive, and what they imagine society demands of them,” Chung writes. “This gap is particularly pronounced among Gen Z men, who not only appear to feel intense pressure to conform to rigid masculine ideals, but in some cases seem to also expect women to retreat to more traditional ways of being.”
Kelly Beaver, the chief executive of Ipsos, said in part of her statement that “we are witnessing perhaps a great re-negotiation of how both men and women inhabit gender roles in today’s society.”
The phrase “a great re-negotiation” sounds daunting — but certainly not inaccurate.
I was going to end this article with one positive statistic that I had originally believed showed Gen Z men and women coming together about a different longstanding traditional ideal that was seemingly being perceived as outdated now, but it turns out that I read that graph wrong, and I actually don’t have a lighter note to end this article on. Here’s hoping that International Women’s Day 2027 turns out better, I guess.
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