Gen Z Men Twice As Likely as Boomers to Believe a Woman Should Obey Her Husband

Gen Z men have some explaining to do.

The men of that generation — currently between the ages of 14 and 29 — have more traditional ideas about gender roles than those of older men, according to a new global survey of 23,000 people.

It found that about a third of Gen Z men and boys agree that a wife should always obey her husband — and that husbands should have the last word on any major decisions.

Gen Z men, in fact, were twice as likely as Baby Boomer men — currently aged 62 to 80 — to have such traditional views of gender roles in a marriage, with just 13% and 17% of Baby Boomer men agreeing with those statements respectively. 

Fewer Gen Z women agreed that a wife should always obey her husband (18%), but an even smaller share of Baby Boomer women (6%) held that view.  

The survey, conducted by Ipsos in the UK and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s Business School, Kings College London to mark International Women’s Day (March 8), had input from people in 29 countries, including the U.S., Great Britain, Brazil, Australia and India.

Among the other findings:

More evidence of a backward slide came from questions about traditional masculinity:

“It is deeply concerning to see traditional gender norms persisting today, and more troubling still that many people appear to be pressured by social expectations that do not actually reflect what most of us believe,” Professor Heejung Chung, Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, said in a press release.

“Our data reveals a striking gap between people’s personal views, which are far more progressive, and what they imagine society demands of them. This gap is particularly pronounced among Gen Z men, who not only appear to feel intense pressure to conform to rigid masculine ideals, but in some cases seem to also expect women to retreat to more traditional ways of being.”

The survey results jibe with many other recent findings, including from the Survey Center on American Life, which found in 2023 that only 43% of Gen Z men considered themselves to be a feminist, compared with 61% of Gen Z women — a gender gap found to be more pronounced in that generation than any other.

Why These Ideas Are Growing — and What Parents Can Do

Mariel Barnes, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of public affairs whose research has focused on the effects of the “manosphere,” tells SheKnows that the latest survey results were to be expected, as she has seen “a pattern of continued misogyny and patriarchy through multiple surveys in last decade,” she says. “I think social media plays a huge role and needs to take a lot of responsibility.”

Previously, men who held such extremist views had a harder time finding others who agreed. But now, Barnes says, “It’s much easier to connect with the Andrew Tates of the world. Once you get sucked down the rabbit hole, their world view can start to make sense. And for young people, the chance of being exposed to this type of content is astronomical.”

Also not surprised is psychologist and educator Michael Reichert, author of How to Raise a Boy: The Power of Connection to Build Good Men.

“We know, with the tightening economy and fewer, harder-to-reach opportunities, that a subset  of younger men, around 30%, are responding by romanticizing traditional masculine identities and roles,” he says. “It shows up in attitudes toward women, but also in relationships with themselves (body dysmorphia, bigorexia), with more angry and conservative politics (us v. them), greater acceptance of racism and violence, and greater isolation (fewer friends, more time alone and online). Such ‘Man Box’ adherents suffer more mental health issues, in general, and are more likely to engage in sexual harassment and bullying.”  

Developmental science, Reichert explains, has established that adolescence and the period of brain maturation extends now till age 25.

“That means younger men need more care, scaffolding, and accountability well into what was always considered adulthood,” he says. “Yet many find themselves on their own once secondary school ends. An important solution is to build out a more realistic and caring infrastructure during emerging adulthood, like gap year programs and community service opportunities. Programs where they are both connected and accountable, and able to derive meaning and a sense of mattering.” 

Finally, be sure to discuss with your boys the sort of content they’re engaging with online, health educator Christopher Pepper, co-author of Talk to Your Boys, suggested in a recent SheKnows story about looksmaxxing, a subset of the “manosphere.” Help them see content through a critical eye, go through the accounts they follow while sitting down together, and prompt them to ask important questions about each content creator, he suggested, such as “What is the message they’re trying to get across, and do I agree?”

Keeping the back-and-forth open with them is crucial. “Boys want advice. They want guidance,” Pepper said. “And when they’re not getting it from caring adults in their own lives, they are goin online and looking for advice … You get answers, but they’re often from people who don’t have your best interests in mind.”