Slight progress, increasing pushback
Kiwis clearly want gender equality
The 2025 Gender Attitudes Survey is sending a clear message: large numbers of New Zealanders think Aotearoa New Zealand would be a better place if we had gender equality.
- 79% believe that gender equality is a fundamental right.
- 78% believe that if we achieve gender equality, then women in employment would receive the same pay as men.
- 67% believe that if we achieve gender equality, there would be more women in senior management.
But many think we’re already there
Despite the historical progress in Aotearoa, we are still falling short of achieving our equality goals. Significant minority views believe that we no longer need to work towards gender equality.
- 46% of New Zealanders think that gender equality has been achieved
- 33% of male respondents aged 18-34 believe that gender equality has gone too far
- 47% of men believe Gender Equality has been achieved for senior management
- 40% don’t believe that sexism is still a significant issue
If New Zealanders have the false belief that gender equality has been achieved, we’re unlikely to prioritise actions and policies that must be sustained to make the progress we need. This misplaced confidence is made worse when our country’s leaders make crucial decisions on pay equity, women’s health, education and climate policy that disproportionately affect women, creating huge setbacks and reversals on decades of earlier progress.
Progress is being stalled or reversed by pushback
The survey also reveals worrying complacency and a concerning backwards trend on what progress should look like:
- 21% of people think gender diversity shouldn’t be taught at all
- 20% of men think that bringing in the household income is more important for men
- 18% of people think men are disadvantaged by gender equality
- 17% of NZers think that if someone is raped when they’re drunk, they’re at least partly responsible for it
- 11% of people think that if someone doesn’t physically fight back, you can’t call it rape
- Agreement on contraception and women’s right to choose has significantly decreased