The Gender Equality Paradox Do young men in more gender equal contexts feel threatened by the advancement of gender equality?

Abstract

In light of an emerging political divide among the younger generation, particularly in terms of gender equality attitudes, and previous research claiming that young men tend to oppose these values, the question arises as to why this divide exists. Based on previous literature and drawing on theories advancing an understanding of gender equality as a perceived threat to men’s privileged position in society, I argue that perceiving society as gender equal could lead to modern sexist attitudes among young men. Furthermore, I also argue that this relationship could be stronger among those young men residing in countries considered to be more gender equal, in objective terms. That is, since some countries are, de facto, more gender equal, it is likely that the perception of threat by further advancement of women’s rights will be heightened. To investigate this, I conduct a statistical analysis, using the latest round of the European Quality of Government Index Survey, as it contains measures of gender equality attitudes. Then, I extend the analysis by investigating countries above and below the gender equal average according to the European Gender Equality Index. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between perceptions of gender equality and modern sexist attitudes among young men and that this relationship is stronger in more gender equal countries than in less gender equal countries. These findings shed light on a phenomenon that potentially could hinder the work for gender equality in the future and should therefore be considered when developing further gender equality policies.