Feminism has gone far enough, most Britons say

Feminism has gone far enough, most Britons say

Harry Carr, Head of Sky Data

The vast majority of Britons think women face prejudice in the workplace but still believe feminism has gone as far it should go, a Sky Data poll reveals.

Sky News commissioned a national survey for #100Women, a special programme discussing the issues facing women in the UK.

The poll found seven in 10 Britons believe men are paid more than women for the same work, while just 1% say women are paid more.

Two thirds (65%) say men are favoured over equally qualified women by British bosses, compared to 5% who say women are favoured over men.


Despite this, a total of 67% of Britons think feminism has either gone too far (40%) or gone as far it should go (27%). Just one third say it has not gone far enough (33%).

There is also little difference on this point by gender - 61% of women either think feminism has gone too far (35%) or has gone as far it should go (26%).

Only one in three (34%) Britons consider themselves to be feminists, with the figure 42% for women and 25% for men.

The poll also found that saying you are a feminist is more likely to hinder than help you get a date - for both men and women.

One in five men (20%) say they would be less likely to want to start a romantic relationship with someone if they said they were a feminist. Just 2% say it made them more likely to start a romantic relationship.

Among women, 15% would be less likely to want to date someone if they were a feminist, while 12% would be more likely.

Amid the recent Harvey Weinstein and Presidents' Club sexual harassment scandals, the poll asked Britons about their behaviour and attitudes towards women.

One in four men (25%) admit changing their behaviour to avoid being sexist in recent years, while 26% say their attitudes to women have changed.

Image: #March4Women took place in London over the weekend

Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,482 Sky customers online between 14-16 February 2018. The data is weighted to the profile of the population.

For the full poll data, please click here.