TRANSCRIPT
What does gender equality mean in Australia?
That's the question Plan International Australia has looked at in Gender Compass - a new report that reveals a number of key beliefs, political preferences and behaviours in relation to gender equality.
Susanne Legena, Plan International Australia CEO, says Australians are divided.
"The real takeaway was that there was almost universal support for gender equal society, with 90 per cent of Australians reporting that men and women should have the same rights and opportunities. But what also was revealed was the sheer amount of confusion, ambivalence and disagreement there is in Australian society about what exactly constitutes gender equality or inequality, and how far we have to go to achieving it. Nearly the same proportion of Australians believe equality for women has gone too far as believe that equality between genders is a dire issue. And then there's a big group in the middle, many of whom we're not really talking to very effectively, who have mixed feelings and mixed attitudes around this issue."
The data was generated from an online survey of more than 2,500 Australians aged 16 and over.
Eleven questions were posed focusing on facts about gender equality, personal experiences of the impacts of gender and interest in taking action on gender issues.
A number of key belief categories emerged.
They include what the report calls the Trailblazers - a group who are ready to fight for gender equality, representing 19 percent of respondents.
On the other end, the Rejectors are those who don't see gender equality is an issue, making up 17 percent of respondents.
But another key researcher with the study Dr Rebecca Huntley, says there is other data that is concerning.
"Australians are really divided about how far we have to go about 59 per cent of people think we're already there. And that is a you know, that is not correct in any kind of way. And so we have to kind of address that."
According to the latest data by the World Economic Forum's, Global Gender Gap 2023 report, it will take 131 years to achieve global gender parity.
For instance, the national gender pay gap in Australia is still 13 per cent, which means that for every dollar earned on average by men, women earn 87 cents.
Even so, the Plan international Australia report shows 58 per cent of respondents believe that some jobs are naturally suited to men and others are naturally suited to women.
Ramona Vijeyarasa an Associate Professor at The University of Technology Sydney and academic advisor on the study, says that change comes largely from addressing those with moderate views.
"There's this group in the middle of moderates, they actually represent 23 per cent of the population according to this very small data set, but still, it shows 23 per cent of the population. And I think those are the people that can be persuaded that Gender Equality matters, when they may not have thought about it before (...) And so the way the gender compass is showing the data, they are people who have experienced the negative impacts of inequality. And do I think they can be persuaded that gender equality matters, by appreciating the way in which change in this field might actually make their lives better."
But it is not all bad news.
Professor Vijeyarasa says there were some positive surprises.
"There's also some really positive statistics and the data that I found pleasantly surprising. So for example, there's a lot of information in here about what people think about certain issues. And according to that data, for example, 80 per cent of people surveyed think medical research should show should focus on female health, as much as male health, I think that's very positive. 79 per cent think domestic work should be shared equally, in an adult household. That's surprising to me and I think that is also really great."
Plan International Australia hopes their report will help inform public information campaigns that will help change attitudes and behaviors about gender equality.
Professor Vijeyarasa says this will have a lot to do with government policies.
"But ultimately, in my view, I think the change has to happen at a policy level and the legislative level. So getting people to vote a certain way and to back certain policies, is I think how you're going to see change on a really significant scale. So to me, government policy really matters."
Ms Legena says there is no more time to waste.
"We don't have 131 years to wait. So when I kept asking my team, how do we accelerate the change for gender equality? Who should we be talking to? And how should we talking to them? It turns out that we didn't have an answer to that question. So this unique research, I think, is an amazing tool that can really help not just ask, but everyone who's concerned about this matter, both in Australia, and I think that we can use the lessons into our international work as well."
