Gender Divergence

Much of the popular media would have one believe that gender discrimination in developed countries is a thing of the past. However, a concerning trend has sneakily taken hold – that of men and women growing ideologically further apart to an extent that has no precedence in the past few decades.

This paradigm shift was catalogued in a report by the Financial Times elaborating on existing research. From the onset, this much was clear: across nearly all developed, there has been a growing divide between men and women since the 2010s, with women becoming progressively more liberal. In contrast, men have become more conservative than before or at least attained liberal ideas much more slowly. It is worth mentioning that the fact that this aberration confounds so many arises from the basic and timeless expectation that people grow more progressive and adopt newer ideas as time goes on.

Soon after, analysis in the Economist based on data from Europe, the USA, and South Korea showed that, 20 years ago, the disparity between men and women in how self-reportedly liberal or conservative they are was almost negligible but reached 0.75 decimal points by 2020. This divergence is unusual not only compared to the magnitude of gender polarisation throughout modern history but also in contrast with polarization in other categories. For instance, the ideological gender gap was twice the gap between those with and without college degrees.

These divergences have profound real-life implications, having already manifested in differential voting patterns between men and women. For example, in South Korea, in 2022 an anti-feminist president was elected into power for whom more than 58% of men in their 20s voted while precisely around 58% of women in their 20s opted to vote for his rival – a perfect example of polar opposite voting patterns. This could lead to an even more fractured political landscape with each side of the political spectrum primarily only vying for the votes of and acting for the concerns of one gender. Experts are also concerned about the ramifications this sort of gender-based gulf may have for falling birth rates.

Now that this development's bizarre, sudden, and potentially consequential nature has been established, the question that arises is what caused its collision into the popular consciousness. In addition, is it even as unexpected as it seems or have things been trending in this direction for a while?

A hint lies in the fact that it has curiously coincided with the gradual prevalence of social media. Social media has led to echo chambers since ‘feeds’ are hyper-specific leading to people only seeing things that support or intensify their own beliefs. It also engenders more extreme views as sensation and polarization are what get more engagement and are thus promoted by social media sites. Furthermore, greater adoption of liberal ideologies among women than men in the past few decades could have to do with women’s educational attainment increasing much faster than that of men. In some Western nations, women have surpassed men in terms of the percentage of undergraduate students they make up. At the same time, the 2008 financial crisis followed by an economic slowdown even before the pandemic has led to rising unemployment and cost of living crises. In this regard, Alice Evans has proposed that economic malaise and the resentment borne thereof is a major reason for increased modern sexism, with many men having a zero-sum mentality – believing that women’s advancement and, in some cases, reservations or advantages, are to the detriment of men. This hypothesis is supported by research by John Murdoch finding that people in countries that have experienced more economic prosperity are more likely to think that such good fortune can be achieved by all. On the other hand, those who have grown up amid poverty, deprivation, and economic lack more often than not are demotivated and possess a zero-sum mentality.

Some men (and women too) now deem feminism as a movement that has overstayed its welcome and gone too far, despite both men and women continuing to be negatively impacted by the patriarchy. For instance, 80% of young Korean men believe that there is concerted and serious gender discrimination against men and not the other way around (Notably, the same statistic for men in their 50s or above figures to 30% - comparable to that of women). If this continues, it could represent a significant slide back in the gains for popular acceptance and championing of feminism, possibly even leading to many women growing more radically feminist, alienating these men further.

There is also a growing tendency towards gender essentialism and division fuelled in part by (you guessed it!) social media. For example, the usage of the prefix ‘girl’ in front of a range of activities and phenomena from girl dinner to hot girl summer creates a sense of community for those who identify as girls but may signify a further separation in the online interactions of men and women. Meanwhile, plenty of men find community in the comment sections of the likes of Andrew Tate – a far right-wing Romanian content creator who has gone so far as to encourage violence among women but has remained popular and the subject of playful jokes on the internet. The most apparent instance of gendered division online is China’s social media landscape, which is quite literally segregated on the lines of sex– with Baidu Tieba skewing male while Little Red Book skews female. Past research by psychologist Gordon Allport is crucial in understanding this. It shows that increased contact between groups with prejudicial relations gives rise to feelings of understanding and identification of more similarities, while the opposite scenario currently prevails.

Evidently, gender-based ideological divergences are growing in developed nations. However, do relatively more traditional and underdeveloped nations share in this?

Research on gendered attitudinal differences over time in such countries is still few and far between. So, taking India as an example, I can only speak from personal experience in saying that as an online phenomenon, I have certainly seen traces of it in the community and diaspora; however, the lived realities of many continue to differ. For instance, Indian female workforce participation rates are still only around 20% in urban areas. The fact that we have never truly experienced mainstream acceptance of feminism makes a regression of such magnitude difficult to orchestrate. Alice Evans also postulates that, in India and similar countries, that tend to be collectivist societies, deviation from the norm is punished, which leads to higher levels of conformity, at least publicly, across the gender spectrum. However, this is largely speculation, and given the well-established nature of this trend in developed nations, it must be examined in India as well to ascertain how global the phenomenon truly is.

Regardless, the mounting evidence supporting the ‘when times are good, the gender gap grows’ proposition in various countries suggests that India needs to walk the tightrope of sustainable economic development carefully. Moreover, in today’s world, an exceeding portion of our lives is influenced by social and other media implying that this trend may seep into India as well either way. In conclusion, whether preventative or active damage control, countries must take steps in cognizance of this pressing issue. For instance, through fostering cross-gender meetings and mutual understanding, less political pandering to a single gender, and regulation of social media to reduce inflammatory and extremist rhetoric.

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