Most people believe governments are not doing enough to give women the same opportunities

When it comes to equality, men and women really do see things differently.

Fewer than half of women around the world believe they have the same opportunities as men, according to a new survey. In contrast, almost two thirds of the men think there is equality of opportunity among the sexes.

The survey also reveals that most people believe their governments are not doing enough to promote equal opportunities for women.

The findings, revealed in a global Ipsos survey, come amid mounting disquiet about the treatment of women in many societies. The Women’s Marches, triggered by the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president, suggest this unease is now spilling over into the political arena.

They also follow the publication of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, which make it incumbent on all countries over the next 15 years to fight inequality, including that between the sexes.

Ipsos asked more than 17,000 people in 23 countries whether women have equal opportunities compared with men. Overall, less than half of women surveyed (45%) think they have equal opportunities to men, while six in 10 men think they do.

More people in the UK believe we live in an age of equal opportunities than the global average, yet the disparity between the two sexes was considerable. More than two thirds of men (67%) compared with just 51% of women agree that women have equality with men.

In the US, almost three quarters of men (72%) think women have equal opportunities compared with just over half (53%) of women.

Differences in perception were especially stark in Poland, where 59% of men think opportunities are equal compared with just 32% of women. Other countries with notable differences in perception include Argentina (68% to 43%), South Africa (70% to 47%) and Peru (75% to 55%).

“These results reveal the stark differences in perception between the sexes on gender equality,” said Jonathan Glennie, director of the Sustainable Development Research Centre. “Most women still see their opportunities diminished because of their gender, while men are much less likely to be worried by this. Gender equality is a critical part of the sustainable development agenda and these results show how far there is to go.”

These results reveal the stark differences in perception between the sexes on gender equality Jonathan Glennie, researcher

When asked whether their government was doing enough to promote women’s equality, 40% of women said they did not believe that this was the case, with only a third (33%) satisfied with their efforts. In comparison, just under half of men (48%) felt that their government was doing enough, while a quarter (25%) disagreed.

In the US, 60% of men said their government was doing enough, compared with 36% of women. This was the second highest difference in perception between the genders, behind only South Africa.

The public in Poland, Hungary and Brazil are most critical, with around half disagreeing that their government is doing enough. Just one in five women in these countries are satisfied with government efforts on equality.

Views in the UK are close to the global average – just over four in 10 people believe the government is doing enough to promote gender equality, compared with 40% globally. Among men, the figure rises to 52%, while for women it falls to 35%.

But the perceptions of gender equality do not always match reality. India considers itself the most equal of the countries surveyed, with 72% of people saying opportunities are equal between genders, including 68% of women. But according to the UN’s gender inequality index, India comes bottom of the 23 countries surveyed by Ipsos.