WIN World Survey – Gender Equality –
2024.03.08Significant gender equality gap still exists for women
- Majority of Irish women believe job opportunities lag behind men
- Over 2 in 5 Irish women report wage disparity
- Twice as many women (58%) than men (28%) feel unsafe while walking alone at night
- Sexual Harassment remains more prevalent amongst Irish women aged 18-34 than men of the same age group
- More effort needed across the board but especially in sports, politics, and the arts in order to bridge the gender equality gap
The Worldwide Independent Network of MR (WIN), the world’s leading independent association in market research and polling, today reveals the Annual WIN World Survey, exploring the views and beliefs of 33,866 people in 39 countries across the globe. Today WIN releases the latest results on gender equality, safety and violence, to track and understand if there are any improvements around the world in terms of equal opportunities and rights.
HEADLINES – IRELAND
Women are more likely to state lack of opportunities and pay disparity.
- Nearly half (47%) of Irish adults perceive that women have fewer opportunities compared to men, with this sentiment even more pronounced among women (60%). Globally, Ireland also lags behind in providing equal or greater opportunities for women.
- This perception is also reflected in the perception of pay disparity. 42% of women in Ireland believe that women are paid less than men in their workplace. The incidence of not working is also higher among women. As compared to other countries, Ireland’s perception of pay disparity is slightly higher.
Violence incidence gradually increases in Ireland
- Feeling unsafe or lacking confidence while walking alone at night is more prevalent in Ireland compared to global averages. There is a noticeable gender disparity, with 58% of women feeling unsafe compared to 28% of men.
- Violence (physical and psychological) increases for the second consecutive time in Ireland, with 1 in 10 experiencing violence in the past year. Compared to global rates, Ireland reports a lower incidence. Young adults aged 18-34, regardless of gender, are more susceptible to violence.
- Although, sexual harassment decreases in Ireland to 5%, with a notable decline among women, dropping from 16% in 2018 to 8% presently. Women aged 18-34 are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment. Compared to the global average, Ireland experiences lower levels of sexual harassment.
More work needed in achieving gender equality in sports, politics, and the arts
- There is a notable increase in Irish perceptions regarding the attainment of gender equality at work (+7%) and home (+6%) compared to 2021. However, women’s views suggest this is not the case, amongst whom no progress is made in these areas.
- Nonetheless, close to half of Irish individuals believe that gender equality is realised in Politics (50%), Arts (59%), and Sports (57%). Moreover, on a global scale, Ireland falls short of the average regarding gender equality in these domains.
Sinead Mooney, Managing Director of RED C Research, said:
“Such little positive movement is hugely disappointing and suggests there is much to do. The stark reality of the disparity in simply feeling safe walking alone at night between men and women should warrant us to sit up and take action on key issues. As a society at large we need to strive for better for all our citizens.”
HEADLINES WORLD
- Safety concerns
46% of women globally do not feel confident or safe when walking alone at night in their neighborhood. Numbers are even more critical in certain geographical areas: 64% of women in the Americas report not feeling safe, 47% in Africa and 45% in Europe. However, in the MENA region only 28% of women share the same feeling.Zooming into specific countries, Latin America regions are perceived as the least safe: 83% of women in Chile don’t feel safe walking alone, followed by 81% in Mexico and 75% in Ecuador. In Europe, Italy (63%), Greece (62%) and Ireland (58%) report the highest percentage of women feeling unsafe, but even in France (54%) and the United Kingdom (50%) the situation is concerning.In APAC, Malaysia (56%) and South Korea (51%) are the two countries with the highest percentage, while in Vietnam and in the Philippines only 9% and 15% report feeling unsafe. - Violence against women is on the rise
An increasing number of women globally (+4% from 2019) answered positively when asked if they suffered any kind of violence (physical or psychological), totaling to 20%. Regionally, the number changes significantly. In Africa the number is particularly high, with 49% of women saying they suffered a form of violence in the last year, followed by the MENA region (27%) and the Americas (24%).Younger women globally seem to be particularly affected: between the ages of 18 and 24, 27% say they have suffered some kind of violence, between the ages of 25 and 34 the figure is 23%. This is also true when looking at sexual harassment specifically, with 19% of women aged 18-24, and 14% aged 25-34 confirming they have been a victim of sexual harassment.Once again Africa is the most affected region, where overall 28% of women say they have been victims; specifically in Nigeria, where 47% of women say they have suffered sexual harassment. Other countries with a high percentage of sexual harassment against women are Mexico (25%) and Brazil (20%). - Improvements on achievements in Gender Equality at work
Although men are generally more optimistic than women, compared to 2019 there’s an improvement in the perception of gender equality in several areas. After two years of stagnation at 26%, now 28% of the global population believes that gender equality has been achieved at work – with 20% of women and 36% of men believing this.In contrast, 44% of the global population still believe that women have fewer job opportunities than men. In Europe (66%) and the Americas (54%) this percentage is the highest, with Croatia (81%), Italy (80%), and France (75%) perceived as the countries with the fewest job opportunities for women.Politics is also an area flagging a slow improvement. From 2% in 2019, now 13% of the global population believes that gender equality has been achieved in this area. Once again there’s a strong disconnect between men’s (21%) and women’s (13%) perceptions. There are also strong geographical differences, in the MENA region 45% still believe that gender equality in politics has not been achieved, followed by 41% in APAC.An area which sees a decline in perceived equality is “at home”. While 48% of people in 2019 believed that gender equality was achieved within the home environment, now only 40% had that perception. In Africa this feeling is stronger than in other regions with 55% of people reporting that gender equality has not been achieved at home.
Vilma Scarpino, President of WIN International Association, said:
“These findings underscore the urgent need for progress in ensuring safety and equal opportunities for all. The unsettling figures on the general sense of unsafety for women, and the increase in violence against them can’t be ignored. At WIN our mission is to shed light on pressuring issues such as these in the hope that one day we’ll see radical improvements in the findings of our global survey, signaling a safer, kinder, and flourishing world for all.”
Media enquiries:
IRELAND DATA
Sinead Mooney, Managing Director, RED C Research
Derek Bell, Associate Director, RED C Research
+35318186316
WORLDWIDE DATA
Elena Crosilla, WIN Coordinator
+39 335.62.07.347
E-mail: coordinator@winmr.com
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Methodology:
The survey was conducted in 39 countries using CAWI / CATI / F2F/ TAPI /online survey methods.
Sample Size and Mode of Field Work:
A total of 33,866 people were interviewed. See below for sample details. The fieldwork was conducted in December 2023 and January 2024. The margin of error for the survey is between 4.4 and 2.5 at 95% confidence level.
The global average has been computed according to the covered adult population of the surveyed countries.
About WIN:
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In the years, WIN has demonstrated wide competences and ability to conduct multi-country surveys following the highest standards requested by the market. The accumulated expertise of the Association is formidable: among others, researched themes are gender equality and young people, communication and media research, and brand studies.
