In a big year for women, here's where Australians really stand on gender equality

There’s been some big moments for gender equality in Australia this year – from the to

For Susanne Legena, chief executive of Plan International Australia, these events have been a sign of “great momentum” across entertainment and sport, and have sparked important conversations around the gender pay gap and funding.

“I was on the Matildas bandwagon along with everybody else,” she told SBS News.

“I was so delighted and excited to see the whole country get behind [them], especially because I’ve heard across my lifetime that women’s sport won’t attract sponsors, that people aren’t interested.

“It was wonderful to see that completely challenged.”

But on the ground, she said: “we still have a long way to go”.

It will take 131 years to achieve global gender parity, according to the latest report from the World Economic Forum that was published in June.

But almost 60 per cent of Australians believe gender equality has mostly or already been achieved in this country, according to new research.

On Wednesday, Plan International Australia – a charity that works to advance children’s rights and equality for girls – released Gender Compass, a “first-of-its-kind” project that reveals what Australians think about gender equality.

The tool was developed in collaboration with independent researcher Dr Rebecca Huntley, and uses data from an online survey of 2,522 Australians aged 16 years and over that was conducted in June and July this year.

It uses responses from a series of questions to segment Australians into six groups based on their attitudes, values, and behaviours around gender equality – and their interest in taking action.

What do Australians think about gender equality?

Legena says the research was conducted to understand Australians’ perceptions about gender equality and ways to accelerate change. She said there had been a gap in the research.

“There were varying surveys that talked about different aspects of gender equality … but there was no research that we could find that segmented the Australian population,” she said.

Gender equality was considered important by 90 per cent of respondents, with 77 per cent agreeing that we all benefit from a society that is fair to all genders.

Legena said the findings show a broad spectrum of beliefs and understanding about issues related to gender equality. While some show signs of progress, others indicate the country has a long way to go.

“Gender stereotypes are very much entrenched in Australian society and are perpetuating themselves in attitudes,” she said.

An infographic showing key findings from new research into gender equality.

Key findings about attitudes towards gender equality from Plan International Australia. Source: SBS News

In the sporting arena, 60 per cent of respondents agreed that women’s sport should have equal standing with men’s in terms of pay and profile.

About 58 per cent said transgender and non-binary people should have the same rights, opportunities and outcomes as cisgender people. The researchers acknowledged this is “by far not good enough”.

The same proportion of people agreed some jobs are naturally suited to men, and some to women.

And, only 26 per cent disagreed that women are more naturally suited to be the main carer of children and elderly parents – 37 per cent agreed, and 37 per cent were undecided.

The tool breaks down respondents into six segments: trailblazer (19 per cent), hopeful (24 per cent), moderate (23 per cent), conflicted (12 per cent), indifferent (6 per cent) and rejector (17 per cent). Plan International said these figures add up to more than 100 per cent due to rounding.

A pie chart showing how Australians think about gender equality, according to new research.

Plan International Australia’s ‘Gender Compass’ segments Australians into six categories based on their attitudes towards gender equality. Source: SBS News

Legena said “trailblazers” were mostly young women who “have lived experience of discrimination, are passionate about the issue and prepared to take action on it”.

On the other end of the spectrum are those who are “indifferent” or “rejectors”. For these respondents, she said gender equality “is really not on their radar, or they think [it] has gone too far and there’s no need for any kind of additional action”.

Then, there’s a majority group in the middle who she believes are not being engaged enough.

How close are we to achieving gender equality?

Despite broad support for a gender-equal society, the research found Australians are not unified in their views on how much change is needed.

And, 59 per cent of respondents believed gender equality has mostly or already been achieved.

“One of the key findings for me is the closer you are to the issue, the further away you think gender equality is,” Legena said.

The research found 33 per cent of respondents had actively supported gender equality in their workplace, while 44 and 52 per cent had taken action by speaking up when witnessing gender inequality, or speaking about it.

For Legena, the research was “overwhelmingly positive”.

“It shows there’s a lot of latent interest that could be tapped for more urgent action on gender equality – both in Australia and elsewhere,” she said.

Huntley said understanding attitudes towards gender in this way can lead to feeling the community is “hopelessly divided”. But she said “any dismay should only be fleeting”.

“Gender Compass shows that a gender-equal future is possible. More segments are supportive of gender equality than not.

“There is widespread support for a myriad of policies that advance gender equality. There is an openness across the community towards action.”

Plan International hopes the research tool will be utilised by various sectors – from governments to business and gender equality advocates – and lead to more targeted messaging that resonates with all Australians.

“This will help us better understand who we should target for which kinds of messages, and at what point, if we really want to move the dial on some of these issues in Australian society,” Legena said.

“Unless we take interventions, unless we do something to shift those attitudes, we are not going to have the gender-equal society that a majority of the people in the survey actually thinks benefits us all.”

The federal government is developing a national strategy to achieve gender equality, which will help to elevate and prioritise actions. It’s expected to be released early next year.