Gender Attitudes Survey

Gender Equal NZ, led by The National Council of Women of NZ – Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa, has conducted five Gender Attitudes Surveys with Rangahau Aotearoa Research NZ in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025.

The survey tests attitudes around gender roles – at home, at school, at work and in the community, and gives us a biennial snapshot of where we’re at in New Zealand on gender. On 17 September 2025, National Council of Women of New Zealand President Dr Suzanne Manning was joined by Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Prof Gail Pacheco, Managing Partner at Research New Zealand Emanuel Kalafatelis, YWCA Aotearoa Chief Executive, NCWNZ Board member Dellwyn Stuart, and Thursdays in Black VUW Branch leader Dylan Van Heerden to launch the fourth survey in the series at our online event.

A video of the live stream of the launch event will soon be available on the NCWNZ YouTube channel.

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2017-2023: Some progress and some reversal

The 2019 and 2021 surveys showed only slight changes in attitudes throughout the country, and the 2023 survey started to show some emerging trends regarding the differences between men and women regarding gender attitudes. Men were consistently showing more optimistic views of the status quo than women, and other significant differences – for example, around gendered violence. In 2023, rape myths were shown to be persistent with 36% of men (25% of women) believing ‘rape happens when a man’s sex drive is out of control’, and 19% of men (7% of women) believing that ‘hitting out is an understandable response for a man when his wife or girlfriend tries to end a relationship’.

Also concerning was the trend over the six years towards more conservative attitudes, for example, attitudes which condone gendered violence.

• ‘rape happens when a man’s sex drive is out of control’
  • 25% in 2017 agreed with this statement
  • 30% in 2023
• ‘hitting out is an understandable response for a man when his wife or girlfriend tries to end a relationship’
  • 8% in 2017 
  • 13% in 2023 (14% in 2025) 

The trends are concerning, as conservative attitudes that uphold the patriarchy will undermine the effectiveness of any initiatives for achieving gender equality.

2025: Slight progress, increasing pushback

Kiwis clearly want gender equality

The 2025 Gender Attitudes Survey is sending a clear message: large numbers of New Zealanders think Aotearoa New Zealand would be a better place if we had gender equality.

• 79% believe that gender equality is a fundamental right.
• 78% believe that if we achieve gender equality, then women in employment would receive the same pay as men.
• 67% believe that if we achieve gender equality, there would be more women in senior management.

But many think we’re already there

Despite the historical progress in Aotearoa, we are still falling short of achieving our equality goals. Significant minority views believe that we no longer need to work towards gender equality.

• 46% of New Zealanders think that gender equality has been achieved
• 33% of male respondents aged 18-34 believe that gender equality has gone too far
• 47% of men believe Gender Equality has been achieved for senior management
• 40% don’t believe that sexism is still a significant issue

If New Zealanders have the false belief that gender equality has been achieved, we’re unlikely to prioritise actions and policies that must be sustained to make the progress we need. This misplaced confidence is made worse when our country’s leaders make crucial decisions on pay equity, women’s health, education and climate policy that disproportionately affect women, creating huge setbacks and reversals on decades of earlier progress.

Progress is being stalled or reversed by pushback

The survey also reveals worrying complacency and a concerning backwards trend on what progress should look like:

• 21% of people think  gender diversity shouldn’t be taught at all 
• 20% of men think that bringing in the household income is more important for men
• 18% of people think men are disadvantaged by gender equality
• 17% of NZers think that if someone is raped when they’re drunk, they’re at least partly responsible for it
• 11% of people think that if someone doesn’t physically fight back, you can’t call it rape
• Agreement on contraception and women’s right to choose has significantly decreased

The results

New Zealanders overwhelmingly want gender equality, but the latest survey shows that any progress we’ve achieved in the last decades risks being slowed by complacency, harmful attitudes, and government actions that run counter to public demand.

The survey findings underscore the urgent need to re-engage New Zealanders, especially young people, in the conversation about equality.

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Event video

An event video of our launch of the 2025 survey is available on the NCWNZ YouTube channel.

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Previous reports

You can download a PDF summary of the previous Gender Attitudes Survey results here:

• 2023
• 2021
• 2019
• 2017