A study once again places Spain, for the second consecutive year, as the most feminist country in Europe, in the sense that citizens have more eagerly and naturally assumed the values ??of gender equality promoted by feminism, with 55% of the population that is defined as such.
However, a gender gap still persists in this identification. While 61% of Spanish women declare themselves to be feminists, the number among men still does not reach a majority (48%), although it has increased by three points compared to last year. Young people are the most advocating for gender equality, with 63% of under-35s identifying with the movement, compared to 50% of those aged 35-49 and 52% of those over older than 50
But, behind the majority of young people, there is a large anti-feminist group, more, even, than the older ones: 22% of the younger 35-year-olds believe that men who stay at home to take care of their children are less men, compared to 9% of those over 50.
This is indicated by a survey carried out in 31 countries by Ipsos between December 22, 2023 and January 5, 2024, and the director of Public Opinion Research and Political Studies in Spain, Paco Camas, interprets this data from youth: “The most feminist and the most anti-feminist discourses coexist among the new generations in Spain. The majority of people under the age of 25 define themselves as feminists and consider that achieving equality is a matter for two, boys and girls. In addition, with a clear emphasis on them: if they do not support their cause, there is nothing to be done”.
“However, reactionary positions also circulate easily among the youth, for example, in the conception of masculinity as incompatible with domestic tasks. Who would have thought that the vindication of the patriarchal male role of provider has twice as much strength among boys today as among their grandfathers! It is an empirically proven trend that young men have become right-wing in the last five years in our country, coinciding with the political and institutional normalization of anti-feminist discourses. Action generates reaction and, hence, polarization”, adds Camas.
The study highlights that half of the Spanish population believes that the promotion of gender equality has led to discrimination against men, an opinion more prevalent among men (55%) than among women (44%) and particularly among those aged 35 to 49 (55%).
But despite this perception, 7 in 10 men agree that they can help continue to promote gender equality by taking certain actions individually, and 62% share the view that women will not achieve equality without active support of men
Although clear progress has been made in terms of gender equality, there is still a perception of discrimination against women in Spain among citizens.
41% of Spanish society declares that women are treated worse than men in the workplace, a perception that is also shared on social networks by 39% of respondents, so that Spain is among the countries with the highest perception of inequality in Europe, only behind countries such as France (40%) and Sweden (45%).
