‘Not like what men imagine’: University of Hong Kong study finds men underestimate hurdles women face
- Professor Celia Chan says respondents’ perceptions of a woman’s experience in dealing with various aspects of life differ by more than 10 per cent
- ‘[Men] tend to find women’s situations fine, but when women reflect upon their own experiences, it’s not like what men had imagined,’ Chan said.
The study published on Monday, ahead of the International Women’s Day on Friday, also revealed that women who held onto traditional gender roles were more likely to experience a lower quality of life.
Professor Celia Chan Hoi-yan of HKU’s department of social work and social administration said that male and female respondents’ answers about their perception of women’s experience in dealing with a range of aspects of life differed by more than 10 per cent, with men underestimating the difficulties.
“[Men] tend to find women’s situations fine, but when women reflect upon their own experiences, it’s not like what men had imagined,” Chan said.
In the survey that polled 603 men and 684 women, Chan presented 10 statements on women’s access to social resources and their control over their lives, with references from the World Health Organization and UN Women, an entity that is dedicated to gender equality.
Respondents were asked to rate whether it would be easy, neutral or difficult for women to handle various situations, including ones related to access to quality education, employment, healthcare, the influence they had in deciding whom to marry and their sense of safety at home and in public spaces.
Respondents were also asked to comment on how easy it was for women to have control over their own lives and personal finances, buy property in their own name and run for office.
In the biggest difference in perception between the two sexes, 68.2 per cent of men said they believed the quality of women’s healthcare was excellent, but only 52 per cent of women agreed with the statement.