In Spain, 44.1% of men agree “strongly” or “somewhat” that “we have come so far in promoting equality for women” that they are now being discriminated against – those between 16 and 24 years old are old, make up 51.8%. of those who feel this way – what some in the female population also think: 32.5%. This emerges from the first survey by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) on perceptions of equality between men and women and gender stereotypes, published this Monday. Analyzing the educational level of men who perceive this discrimination, 47.2% of those who “strongly agree” have a college degree, 20% have a college degree, and 17.9% have none. You have training.
The CIS analysis, carried out last November among 4,005 people over the age of 16, shows that despite this perception of insult, 48.2% of men believe that inequalities between women and men remain “very large or fairly large”. . Among women surveyed, 67.2% said yes and 22.4% believed the differences were the same as a decade ago. In fact, 81.2% of them say that “they will not achieve equality unless men also fight for their rights.”
Doctor of political science at the University of Leicester (England) and feminism expert Berta Barbet believes that this perceived “discrimination” by men may be due to the lack of male role models to defend their comfort with feminism. “Reactionary political actors like Santiago Abascal (leader of Vox) have emerged who propagate models that advocate patriarchy out of resentment. They take advantage of the discomfort of some men who do not know how to behave in order to fit into the new scenario and perhaps feel more “lost.” There are many men, Barbet continues, who no longer know what what they have to do to belong, and the right is using this insecurity to discredit feminism.
According to the information collected by the CIS, 88.1% of men who voted for Vox said they felt this discrimination; 66.1% of PP; 22.4% of the PSOE and 9.5% of the Sumar.
Regarding this rejection of “promoting equality”, forensic doctor and former government delegate against gender-based violence, Jaime Lorente, emphasizes that although more and more girls consider gender-based violence to be a very serious social problem – 74.2% in 2021 – that However, fewer men agree with this statement. While this was 54.2% of those surveyed in 2017, it was barely more than 50% in 2021. This data was collected in the Youth and Gender Barometer report. Identities, representations and experiences in a complex social reality, from the Reina Sofía Center for Youth and Youth of the Foundation for Help Against Drug Dependence, which interviewed young people between 15 and 29 years old. Lorente is concerned about the increasing tendency of boys to deny the existence of sexist violence. In four years, from 2017 to 2021, the share doubled to 20%. One in five teenagers and young men between the ages of 15 and 29 believed that gender-based violence did not exist and that it was just “an ideological invention”.
Lorente insists that when one talks about the criminal code, it is assumed that it targets not all men but criminals, but when it comes to the comprehensive law against gender-based violence, “some people believe that it targets all men “And not just against those who mistreat.” For this reason, he adds that measures in favor of equality are good for the entire population because “when a critical or negative situation in a society is resolved, those who benefit “See the injustices that affect them corrected, but also the rest of the community.”
According to the forensic doctor, social networks, in which explicit and critical messages from influencers and YouTubers against equal rights are hosted, and political denialism invalidate measures that advocate equal rights. “Pornography, the objectification of women or the victimization of men are elements that also reinforce these factors,” he adds.
Mediation and the world of work
The CIS survey shows that women spend more time on household chores (cleaning, cooking, shopping …) in a working day than men, they spend an average of 172 minutes (almost three hours) per day and they spend an average of 126.76 minutes. minutes (two hours). But when it comes to the question of childcare during the working day, the gap between the two sexes widens: while women spend 412.25 minutes (6.7 hours) on their offspring, they spend around 228.88 minutes (3.7 hours).
In 2014, a study with data published in Harvard Business Review showed that women who were dissatisfied with their careers did not attribute it to the fact that they had left their work on the back burner to care for the children, but rather that they had given priority to their children's careers. their partners. The aim of the Life and Leadership After HBS study, which surveyed 25,000 former Harvard Business School students, mostly MBA graduates and of different generations between the ages of 26 and 47, was to analyze the expectations of graduates of the same school and trained to take leadership positions and align them with the current situation. After completing their studies, 75% of men expected their partner to take more care of the children in the future; 50% of women assumed this would be their fate. Furthermore, more than 70% of them felt that their careers would take priority over that of their wives; about 40% of them predicted the same thing.
According to this study by the American business school, most of them agreed that they were no longer considered as candidates because of their motherhood; They were stigmatized because they had demanded flexible working hours or reduced working hours for a while.
The CIS survey shows that 67.8% of women say the situation for girls is worse when it comes to access to leadership positions, and the same applies to 50.9% of men, of whom 39.7% say they are equal opportunities have opportunities. When it comes to balancing work and family, 72.5% of women say they are doing worse and 58.5% of men say they are disadvantaged when it comes to combining both activities.
78.1% of the female population agrees with the statement: “Women have to work harder than men to prove they can do the same work.” This percentage drops by 26 points when men are asked. 51.8% agree with this statement and 46.3% disagree. When it comes to gender discrimination in the workplace, 9.7% of women say they have experienced it, compared to 5.4% of men.
Gender stereotypes
When asked about gender stereotypes, 66.5% of respondents said that watching pornography was more typical of men than women. The same applies to paying for sexual relationships: 84.9% say that this is more typical of the male gender. Furthermore, 83.5% of the female population confirm that “most pornography is sexist”, a thesis that men also hold, although to a lesser extent (77.6%). On the other hand, 55.6% stated that it is more typical for women to talk openly about feelings.
87.2% of the female population and 76.2% of men agree with the statement “A woman with an active sex life is criticized more than a man.” When it comes to compliments, almost half of men believe that “it's always nice to get one,” and when asked for a compliment, that number drops to 35.7%, in fact 60.5% disagree with this statement .
Lorente insists that CIS shows that machismo is culture and behavior is a consequence of it. “For this reason, there is a percentage of women who believe that promoting equality runs counter to men,” she clarifies. The connection to normality, explains the forensic doctor, is based on an androcentric model according to which men think about what is normal: “Some perceive equality and critical social policy as an attack on their positions because they lose privileges, rather than as progress. “for the community. We can see that they are on the edge of this reality, which has consequences as immediate as the murders that women suffer as a result of gender-based violence.”