A single conversation with a close family member may not change a young woman's views on policies protecting their rights, but it can strongly influence young men's attitudes.
A University of Michigan study found that family opinions heavily shape male youth's views on women's rights, while female youth are less affected. This finding builds on evidence that young women receive significantly more information about gendered experiences and discrimination against women from a younger age and helps explain why boys and girls often have different levels of support for women's rights.
"Our findings highlight how this gendered information gap leads to significant differences in attitudes toward policies protecting and advancing women's rights," said Mara Cecilia Ostfeld, associate research professor at the Ford School of Public Policy.
"It reinforces past evidence that men, and especially young men, are simply receiving less information about gendered experiences and disparities, and demonstrates how these differential levels of exposure to information on women's experiences contribute to significant gender gaps in attitudes toward women's rights."
The study demonstrates that the perceived norms within their families more heavily influence men's attitudes toward women's rights than women's attitudes. Researchers found that statements from family members-and not other authority figures like teachers or community leaders-uniquely shape young men's views on gender equality.
"When people have received less information on a topic, their views tend to be more malleable," said Ostfeld, also a faculty associate at the Center for Political Studies in the Institute of Social Research. "The fact that young men receive fewer cues about women's experiences than young women also makes them more open to the influence of additional information-especially from family."
Based on findings from a comprehensive national survey and an online experimental study focused on teenagers, the research highlights the following:
- Young men's attitudes toward women's rights were more malleable than young women's.
- Family members particularly influenced men's views on women's rights, as opposed to less familiar authority figures.
- Reflecting on hypothetical conversations with family members about issues such as women's rights-like those raised during the #MeToo movement-can significantly shape men's perspectives.
"These results underscore the importance of speaking to young men-particularly family members speaking to them-about women's experiences and the disparities that shape their lives and opportunities," Ostfeld said.
In sexual health, for instance, boys receive less frequent, lower-quality communication from parents compared to girls. Even medical providers are less likely to discuss these topics with young men. This lack of dialogue perpetuates stigma and misinformation about issues like menstruation, birth control and the challenges women face in reproduction and family planning.
"Research indicates that exposure to women's experiences, whether through raising a daughter or having a meaningful conversation, can significantly increase men's support for gender equality," Ostfeld said. "Conversations with young men can play a pivotal role in fostering greater understanding and advocacy for women's rights."
Broader Context
The study, co-authored with colleagues Sara Morell and Lauren Hahn, comes against a backdrop of persistent gender inequities. Among many other places, there are disparities in rates of exposure to sexual assault, sexual violence-or intimate partner violence-access to a variety of forms of health care, and gaps in access to leadership roles and pay equity.
"Many efforts to reduce these disparities have focused on the socialization of women," Ostfeld said. "From encouraging women to 'lean in' professionally, to highlighting the work that women's role models and mentors should be doing, to promoting strategies women can take to mitigate the risks of sexual assault.
"However, men are still more likely than women to hold attitudes in opposition to women's rights-and there has been surprisingly little attention to understanding the source of this opposition and factors that can change this trend."
Ostfeld and colleagues call for further research into the long-term effects of family cues on gendered attitudes and the interplay of intersecting identities such as race, class and religion. They also emphasize the importance of exploring other influential factors, including peer groups and media, to complement family-centered approaches.
