New study shows how backwards Gen Z actually is.Image: Shutterstock
A new global survey has shown that Gen Z men are far more conservative than their grandfathers.
Mar 5, 2026, 6:39 p.mMarch 6, 2026, 10:23 am
Social media movements such as the Tradwives or the Manosphere have made traditional role models accessible to young people again. Ayour global study has now shown how backwards men of Generation Z (1997 to 2012) really think in contrast to previous age groups.
The study was carried out by the polling institute Ipsos in the UK and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s Business School London. The reason for this was International Women’s Day 2026. 23,000 people from 29 countries were surveyed. These included, among others, Great Britain, the USA, Brazil, Australia and India. People from Switzerland were not included.
It found that 31 percent of Gen Z men believe that a wife should always obey her husband. A third (33 percent) also thought that the husband should have the final say on important decisions.
Gen Z is more conservative than the baby boomers
This means that Gen Z men have far more conservative views than their grandfathers from the baby boomer generation (born 1946 to 1964). Of these, only 13 percent said that the wife should obey and 17 percent said that the husband should have the last word.
This picture is also evident in the sexual norms of the generations. More than a fifth (21 percent) of Gen Z men believe that a “real woman” should never take the initiative in sex. Only seven percent of baby boomers think this.
But this is also evident among young women study a trend towards more conservative role models. Almost a fifth (18 percent) of Gen Z women agreed that a wife should obey. Among baby boomer women it was just six percent. When asked about sexual initiative, twelve percent of female Gen Z respondents felt that it should not come from them, compared to just seven percent of baby boomer women.
57 percent of men see themselves as discriminated against
The online survey also asked how satisfied the participants were with equality in their own country. 61 percent of Gen Z men said that enough was being done in their own country. 57 percent of Gen Z men even believe that equality for women has been promoted to the point that men are now discriminated against.
Julia Gillard from King’s Business School is concerned about the survey results: “It is worrying to see that attitudes towards gender equality are not more positive, particularly among young men.” Robert Grimm explains that social media actually plays a big role in this: “Digital ecosystems increase polarization because social media algorithms reward pointed messages.”
There are enough such pointed messages on the social media platform TikTok. Last year, for example, the phenomenon of… Tradwiveswhich stands for traditional housewife. Young women showed how they serve their husbands and thus generated millions of clicks. The Manosphere, in contrast, encourages young men to oppress women.