New Delhi: A new survey conducted by women-first dating app Bumble reflected a “reality gap” between what women believed versus what they experienced in real life in terms of gender equality in India.
The report said that 32 per cent Gen Zs thought gender equality was improving in India but women are still way behind men.
Bumble’s 2023 annual ‘State of the Nation’ report surveyed 2,500 Indians who were above 18 and found that while most people agreed on the definition of gender equality, it hardly reflected in real life instances.
Around 95 per cent of respondents agreed that improving women’s rights would make the world a better place for everyone. Ironically, a majority (84 per cent) of respondents, including 87 per cent women, said that women are the ones to compromise between career, relationship and family in a way men don’t.
‘Reality Gap’: What women want is not what they get
Around 95 per cent respondents agreed that gender equality meant all genders are treated as equals and given equal opportunities. But 89 per cent women respondents agreed that “inequality in childcare roles leads to inequality in career achievements”.
As much as 68 per cent male respondents and 76 per cent of women surveyed believed taking maternity leave was disadvantageous to their career prospects. The women respondents also said that mothers were often left feeling guilty about spending time at work than fathers.
The survey findings also showed that 86 per cent respondents thought lack of financial independence was a major reason for women being stuck in unhappy relationships and 87 per cent agreed that social structures/systems make women financially dependent on men.
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