Jodi’s Journal: Gen Z’s surprising take on gender equality

March 28, 2026

Should a wife always obey her husband?

One in four adults globally age 18 to 74 says yes.

That’s according to an eye-opening report I found this month from Ipsos, a global market research and consulting firm.

I figured I’d tell you about it while we’re still in March, which has been designated Women’s History Month in the United States and other nations. But no matter what the timing, I think it’s worth absorbing.

This was a global study encompassing 29 countries and more than 23,000 respondents. But even drilling down to U.S. data, which tended to fall right around the average throughout, 23 percent of respondents still agreed that a wife should obey her husband, while 23 percent neither agreed nor disagreed. Half strongly or somewhat disagreed.

Among different generations, who might you imagine is most likely to take on this traditional view?

Turns out, it’s not the oldest cohort — it’s the youngest.

Among Gen Z respondents, those born between 1997 and 2012, 31 percent of men felt a wife should always obey her husband, versus 13 percent of baby boomer males. Among women, younger respondents also were more likely to agree with the statement.

Nearly one in four young men also agreed with the statement that a woman should not appear too independent or self-sufficient — more than any other generation.

They also were the most likely to say that a husband should have the final word on important decisions made in his home — a sentiment one in three young men supported.

When asked about equality, more than half of most men believe that “when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in my country.”

Now here’s where it gets even more interesting.

The majority of people worldwide, including in the U.S., said that “things would work better if more women held positions with responsibilities in government and companies.” Gen Z was equally or more inclined to agree with that than other generations.

The survey also asked: “Are women with successful careers more attractive to men?” Gen Z men were most likely to say yes.

So let’s square this up. According to at least some in the youngest generation surveyed, young women who build a successful career are more likely to be attractive to young men, but they shouldn’t be too self-sufficient, they should always obey their husbands, and their husbands should have the final word on important decisions in the home.

Maybe it’s no wonder that this generation repeatedly has been shown in research to be dating less, marrying later if at all and — get ready for this — seemingly quite open to forming emotional bonds with or even marrying artificial intelligence.

Granted, this study was from an AI companion platform, but it was published by Forbes and concluded 80 percent of Generation Z would consider marrying an AI. And yes, somehow this is actually already happening. Sort of. Not in a legally binding way. But still happening.

Now think about all these perceptions in the context of a workplace, where women for decades have been underrepresented on the executive team and at the boardroom table.

The youngest men coming into the workplace are showing that they hold a disproportionately traditional view of women’s roles compared with their older counterparts.

We also have a widening gender gap in higher education, where women now represent as many as 60 percent of college undergraduates.

In 1995, young men and women were equally likely to hold a bachelor’s degree — 25 percent each, according to the Pew Research Center. By 2024, 47 percent of U.S. women age 25 to 34 had a bachelor’s degree, compared with 37 percent of men.

It’s setting up to be an interesting clash of expectations and perceptions, to say the least, and something older leaders probably should be aware of as they attempt to manage through it.

Do a little digging into why Gen Z men hold the views they do, and a bunch of additional insights open up — everything from social media influence to backlash against feminism to economic and social uncertainty and the lack of appropriate male role models.

That last one probably is the easiest to address and maybe an appropriate point to drive home with our older male leaders in the business community. It’s possible the younger ones need your example and guidance more than you might realize.

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