Only 1 in 5 Canadian millennials believe they will see global gender equality in their lifetimes.
September 24, 2018
On behalf of The MATCH Fund, we asked Canadian millennials (those aged 18 to 37) their views on global gender equality and Canada’s role in trying to achieve it.
Here’s what we found:
Only one in five millennials believe they will see global gender equality achieved in their lifetime. Most think that gender equality will be achieved in Canada and similar countries, but the majority of Canadian millennials are skeptical that it can be achieved globally.
Female millennials are less confident than their male counterparts that gender equality will be achieved globally or even in countries like Canada within their lifetime.
Given this assessment, almost all millennials in Canada believe Canada has a role to play in investing in women’s rights efforts globally and half (51%) believe Canada should play a leading or big role in such an effort with another one in three feeling Canada should play a moderate role in investing in women’s rights globally.
Of note, there’s no difference between women and men on this question.
When asked who should be investing in trying to achieve gender equality global – the federal government, the charitable sector, or both – most Canadian millennials (52%) would prefer a collaborative approach and see a role for both government and the charitable sector. Another 26% think it should be the charitable sector’s role alone while 22% feel that it is mostly the federal government’s role to invest.
Of note, women were more likely to want to see a mix of both government and charitable organizations involved in the effort while men were more likely to pick either government or non-governmental organizations.
Taken together, 74% of Canadians would support the federal government playing some role in investing in gender equality globally
THE UPSHOT
We know from other research we have conducted that equality generally is an important issue for millennials in Canada. Canadian millennials believe strongly that equality – whether by race, sexual orientation, or religion – is a fundamental right.
This research for The MATCH Fund reaffirms that and shows that millennials in Canada – both men and women – want Canada to play a role in achieving global gender equality. They believe that the federal government has a role to play the work to achieve it and want it to be an active partner, working with non-governmental organizations to achieve gender equality, not just in Canada, but around the world.
Millennials are also realists. They recognize that achieving gender equality global won’t be easy. Most feel it may not be achieved within their lifetime and so they support action and collaboration to get the world closer to this important goal.
Perhaps most striking is the unity across gender lines in attitudes towards these issues. Millennial men are as likely as millennial women to want action and want Canada to play a role.
I’m excited to be part of a panel discussion about these results and how millennials view gender equality.
METHODOLOGY
The survey was conducted online with 1,700 Canadians aged 18 to 37 from June 21st, 2018 to July 4th, 2018. A random sample of panelists was invited to complete the 20-minute survey from several online panels of Canadians.
The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
For more information about the results and The MATCH Fund, please visit: http://matchinternational.org/media-advisory-gender-millennials/
