The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Equality policies discriminate against men, say half of Britons
ABOUT half of Britons believe that society has gone too far in promoting women’s equality and that men are now discriminated against, a survey suggests.
According to the results of the survey, nearly one in two (47 per cent) agreed with the statement: “When it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in my country.”
This marks an increase on the 38 per cent who said the same last year, and a rise in the proportion who felt this way as recently as 2019 (29 per cent). A total of 47 per cent also agreed with the statement: “We have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that we are discriminating against men.”
The research is being published as part of a global study carried out in 31 countries by the polling company Ipsos in collaboration with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London for International Women’s Day, which was yesterday.
Responding to the data, Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, a gender equality charity, said: “We have a gender pay gap that’s closing at a glacial pace, there are fewer ‘Inevitably where there is progress there is pushback, but it’s clear that there is much more to be done’ than 10 women leading FTSE 100 companies, half of women will experience sexual harassment at work, and online abuse and misogyny is rife.
“It doesn’t feel like a golden era of equality to me. Yes, we’ve made progress, thanks to the incredible and relentless work of generations of women.
“Inevitably where there is progress there is pushback, but it’s abundantly clear that there is much more to be done, and this data shows the majority of women agree.”
The survey asked 24,269 adults a series of questions in a range of countries around the world. More than 1,000 of those surveyed were Britons. The report concluded that “progress towards gender equality is slow”. Across a 31-country average, more than half of people (54 per cent) believe that when it comes to giving women equal rights things have gone “far enough” in their country.
For those who believe that society has gone too far in promoting women’s equality at the expense of men, 59 per cent of men agree with the statement, compared with 35 per cent of women.
Sixty-six per cent of Britons agreed that women will not achieve equality unless men take actions to support ‘Many have come to see the myth that every man is a villain and all women are virtuous as a fact’ women’s rights too (including 65 per cent of men and 68 per cent of women). However, the term “feminist” remains challenging, with only two in five identifying with the phrase.
Sir John Hayes, chairman of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs and a former security minister, said: “The myth that every man is to a, lesser or greater degree, a villain, and all women are invariably virtuous is perpetuated with such vigour that many have come to see it as fact.
“Fortunately for most of us, common sense and this survey also shows that good and bad people of both sexes prevail.”