Perceptions of Progress:
A Gender Equality Survey
A Data-Driven Exploration of How Different Demographics Perceive Gender Equality
I conducted a survey with 500 respondents to explore attitudes, experiences, and perceptions around gender equality. My goal was to understand how gender and age influence views on social expectations, discrimination, and progress toward equality.
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The survey includes both quantitative (1-10 Likert scale) and categorical responses, allowing for a robust analysis across demographics such as gender and age groups.
Overview
Demographics
Female, male, non-binary, and others ranging from under 18 to over 64, residing in the United States.
Survey
19 questions in Likert scale and categorial format with 500 responses.
Limitations
Response biases like social-desirability and insufficient sample size for statistical measurement.
Headline Insights
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Polarized Views on Inequality: Some respondents strongly agree that gender inequality remains a major issue, while others strongly disagree, revealing a divided perception of the problem.
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Gender Gaps: Women consistently scored higher than men on questions about recognition, fairness, and gender bias, suggesting that women perceive inequality more strongly.
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Comfort Challenging Norms: Responses were mixed, with many scoring either very high (10/10) or very low (1–3), indicating a split in willingness to challenge traditional gender roles.
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Support for Equal Parental Leave: A clear majority (70%) favored equal leave for mothers and fathers, showing shared values for balanced caregiving responsibilities.
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Aligned Views on Gender: Over 75% respondents claimed that have witnessed someone else being treated unfairly because of their gender, proving gender remains a large issue in today's society.
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Areas for Improvement: Workplace/Pay (71.7%), politics (52.9%) and family/household dynamics (51.3%) were the most frequently chosen areas where respondents feel change is needed*.
*Respondents are asked to choose up to 3 areas.
​The research focuses on how different demographics perceive gender equality with respect to societal expectations, discrimination and gender equality progressions. This survey on a sample size of 500 respondents offers some precious insight into the difference in perceptions towards gender inequality among various genders and age groups. In addition to the highlight of the survey wherein an outstanding percent of female respondents who participated gave their report on gender inequality is exhibited in figure below. The gender inequality respondents approaching at almost 80-percent believed that were women and this explains the nature of oppression that is the gender core differences over women.
Figure 1
On the age group analysis of responses obtained, younger females (under 30 years old) had higher chances of noting that they had experienced gender inequity more than older females as shown in figure below. This trend means that even in the face of the fact of gender inequality, women can continue to be affected however as the structures of representation of all ages but younger generations also may be subjugated to systemic discrimination in the education and employment worlds (Caven et al., 2021). Interestingly, this tendency is consistent with a more general trend of gender perception among generations.
Figure 2
Another perception in the survey was regarding how educational organizations respond to promote gender equality. There was also an incredible percentage of responses, especially the young that schools had a little to offer on the matter of gender equality as shown in figure below. The feeling is similar to the outcomes of earlier research, in which the functionality of educational tools to achieve gender equality was doubted (Grzelec, 2022). It identifies a gap in the proactive adoption of gender equality measures, whereby efforts need to be more in-depth to include the creation of inclusive environments by educating but also encouraging them.
Figure 3
Despite the growing recognition of gender inequality, the survey revealed that many respondents feel progress has been slow as shown in figure below. This is particularly true in professional settings where gender bias persists, especially in male-dominated fields like architecture. Lau et al., (2022) discuss that women in these fields face barriers such as gender stereotyping and unequal promotion opportunities.
Figure 4
The survey also explored how effective gender equality policies are in the workplace as shown in figure below. Many respondents expressed skepticism about the impact of current policies, particularly those that do not actively challenge existing cultural norms or address deeper structural inequalities. Ryan, (2023) suggested that simply increasing the representation of women in leadership roles, for example, does not guarantee meaningful gender equality if organizational practices remain unchanged.
Figure 5
Considering the results of the survey, it is evident that the educational establishments must put more effort into their gender equality issues, not only by creating awareness campaigns but by integrating gender sensitivity into their courses and training sessions. Also, the workplace has to go beyond just ensuring more women are represented and work on transforming organizational cultures that promote gender biases (Zhu, 2021). Policies to shape work-life balance, female mentorship, and campaigns against unconscious bias could go a long way in enhancing the results of gender equity (Caven et al., 2021). Although the information obtained during the survey reflects certain positive shifts, it also reveals the current challenges that women experience when they strive to become truly equal in a gender aspect. Going forward, it will be critical to generate more insights into the structural and cultural risks that breed gender inequality and come up with a specific approach to overcome these challenges.
References
Caven, V., Navarro Astor, E., & Urbanaviciene, V. (2021). Gender inequality in an “Equal” environment.
Gender, Work & Organization, 29(5), 1658–1675.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.12715
Grzelec, A. (2022). Doing gender equality and undoing gender inequality—A practice theory
perspective. Gender, Work & Organization, 31(3). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.12935
Lau, V. W., Scott, V. L., Warren, M. A., & Bligh, M. C. (2022). Moving from problems to solutions: A
review of gender equality interventions at work using an ecological systems approach. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 44(2). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/job.2654
Ryan, M. K. (2023). Addressing Workplace Gender inequality: Using the Evidence to Avoid Common
Pitfalls. British Journal of Social Psychology, 62(1), 1–11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10100361/
Zhu, Z. (2021, December 24). The Causes and Solutions of Gender Inequality in the Workplace.
Www.atlantis-Press.com; Atlantis Press.