The Pew Research Centre recently published its report on gender roles, based on face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults in 2019 and 2020.
Highlights
- As per report, Indian adults universally say that, it is important for women to have same rights as men. 8 out of 10 men say it is very important.
- However, there are some circumstances when Indians feel men should receive preferential treatment.
- 80% men agree that, “when there are few jobs, men should have more rights than women”.
Women as political leaders
As per report, Indians broadly accept women as political leaders. India has a long history of women leaders, starting from the 1966 election of Indira Gandhi, as one of the world’s first woman prime ministers, to other leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Sushma Swaraj and Jayalalitha. 55 percent of the adults say that women and men make equally good political leaders while 14 percent say that women generally make better leaders.
Sharing family responsibilities
Most Indians are of the view that, men and women should share some family responsibilities while many still support traditional gender roles. 62% of the adults are of the view that, men and women should be responsible for taking care of children. 34% adults feel that child care should be handled primarily by women. 54% say that both men and women should be responsible for earning money while 43% see this as obligation of men.
Responsibility of Parents
63% of the Indians are of view that, sons should be primarily responsible for parents’ last rites or burial rituals.
Respect to women
76% of Indian adult’s points that, violence against women is a “very big problem” in their country. 51% Indians say, it is important to teach boys to respect all women while 26% say it is important to teach girls to behave appropriately.