A STRIKING ABSENCE OF PROGRESS

NO EASY FIXES WHEN ADRESSING GROWING SEXISM AMONG YOUNG MEN 

It’s only a matter of time. We don’t need extra leadership action or government intervention, because it’s only a matter of time before women assume their rightful place on Boards, in the C-suite, in government – before we have gender equality. I have heard this said many times in conversations here in Denmark about women’s underrepresentation in leadership and other gender-related issues more generally. 

How much time, I wonder, and do current trends support such optimism? I think not.

This year the Danish Government and Parliament overcame many years of resistance and finally approved a new law which takes effect in 2023, that requires some 5000 of the country’s largest public and private companies and foundations to set and report on actions to achieve goals for gender balance (at least 40/60) at Board and leadership levels. 

This is certainly progress, but will it be enough without additional interventions? Do we need more transformational gender action?  

In a recent article, I argued that feminist leadership principles can help companies reap the benefits of a more diverse Board and C-suite composition. Today, I examine some worrying societal trends which will require us to dramatically accelerate gender transformative action in multiple arenas. I do so because I’ve taken a look at the future. 

In any sector – and especially in the social impact sector – we dream of finding the crystal ball that can give us glimpses of the future. A sense of assurance that the inevitably long-term actions and investments we made 5-10 years ago are bearing fruit. Or an early indication of failure, so we can course-correct or shift gears.

The Reykjavik Index is one of my favourite polls and reports in the gender space and it is one of the few that despite its depressing conclusions has a few magical properties. The Index measures perceptions of women and men in terms of their suitability for positions of power in G7 countries, India, Kenya, and Nigeria. And importantly it disaggregates the finding by gender and age.

I was in Reykjavik at the Global Forum in 2018 when Women Political Leaders and Kantar launched the first Reykjavik Index. Like many participants, I was intrigued and disturbed by the new insights about public perception in G7 countries of women’s suitability for leadership that it gave us. At the time, I certainly hoped that we would see progress year on year as women leaders increased in numbers and visibility. Sadly, this did not happen.

This is however not the main story of the Index in my view. The main story is about what the report can tell us about the future. 

In most countries surveyed, young men (18-35) are less progressive than young women and older men when it comes to attitudes about equality in leadership. The Index report states, that this could have lasting implications for the future,with stressors in the home, office and wider communities as these differences in opinion of who is suitable to lead embed. 

Many other reports this year show similar trends. A survey conducted under the leadership of UN Women covering 20 countries shows that attitudes towards women and gender roles have deteriorated since COVID-19. The Levers of Change: Gender Equality Attitudes Study 2022 points out that 52 percent of men aged 16-19 and 54 percent of men aged 20-34 agree that women should work less and devote more time to caring for their family. And the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022 tells a story of women’s workforce outcomes suffering as global crises compound with risks of further backsliding. 

So, what is driving this development? And what needs to be done about it?

There is no one answer to this and research is unfortunately limited. But reading across a number of reports one can identify at least four areas:

First, media and advertisements persist in portraying women and men in traditional roles. Magazines targeting younger men often serve as a tool in mainstreaming sexist images. IMS – the largest media development organisation in the Nordic region – call on media to create gender-sensitive and gender-transformative content – breaking gender stereotypes. They further argue for showing women in leadership roles and as experts on a diversity of topics on a daily basis, not as an exception. They do so with good reason as their data shows that women only make up 24% of the persons heard, read about, or seen in newspapers, television, and radio news. Only one in five experts interviewed by the media are women. 

Second, we know media shapes children’s and young people’s norms and attitudes and so do schools. Education systems need transformation. They are neither suited to equip children with 21st-century skills nor to advance gender equality. Gender norms are extremely challenging to address and education systems often reflect and perpetuate prevailing harmful gender norms and power relations in teaching practices, curricula, and textbooks. Without a complete gender transformative audit and reform of our education systems, it is hard to expect faster progress toward equality. 

Third, in a brilliant article by Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks in Foreign Affairs magazine they make the clear link between the roll-back in women’s rights and the expansion of authoritarian, autocratic, and antidemocratic sentiments across both new and old democracies. They argue that because of this relationship, pro-democracy, human rights, and women’s movements must unite. I’d further argue that all democratic governments must adopt feminist foreign and development policies that increase the volume and quality of aid to the global women’s and pro-democracy movements. 

Fourth, Amy Alexander and Nicholas Charron, both political scientists at the University of Gothenburg, have also studied what lies behind the relatively high incidence of modern sexism among young men in Europe. They find modern sexism highest in regions where unemployment has risen the most in recent years, and where citizens have a widespread distrust of social institutions. It suggests that young men who believe that women are out-competing them in the labour market experience advances in women’s rights as unjust and a threat. They, therefore, suggest we need to communicate the societal benefits of gender equality much better.

This is not an exhaustive list of possible causes, but they illustrate that there are no easy fixes when addressing the growing sexism among young men. With considerable global uncertainty, conflict, and rapid change, it is furthermore likely that societal, public, and private complacency and lack of focus on gender issues will accelerate the roll-back of many gender equality advances made over the past 20 years. Only urgent intentional prioritisation of multi-sectoral action can address growing sexism, discrimination, and inequality. While we should always encourage governments that take some long overdue actions such as the Danish legislation on goals and reporting on gender-balanced leadership – this cannot stand alone. 

Sexism is systemic and it will keep rearing its ugly head generation after generation unless transformative change happens across all sectors now. And achieving gender equality at home, at work, and in the public sphere cannot be reduced to a matter of goals and patience. 

First published on 25 November 2022.