Global survey shows Malaysia, Indonesia hold traditional views, while Singapore sees equality as enough.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia and Indonesia have emerged among the most traditional societies in a global survey on gender roles, while neighbouring Singapore shows a contrasting trend — with many believing gender equality efforts have already gone far enough.
A study by Ipsos and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership found that 60% of respondents in Malaysia and 66% in Indonesia agreed that “a wife should always obey her husband” — the highest proportions among 29 countries surveyed.
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The survey, which polled over 23,000 people across nations including Singapore, India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil, also found that 58% of Malaysians and 67% of Indonesians believe husbands should have the final say in key household decisions.
According to South China Morning Post, experts say such views reflect long-standing cultural norms, though they caution against interpreting them too narrowly.
“The attitudes were ‘not particularly surprising,’” said Mohd Faizal Musa, research fellow at the Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation at the National University of Malaysia, pointing to the influence of tradition and religion.
However, he stressed that global comparisons often fail to capture regional nuance.
“Southeast Asian societies, especially within the Malay world, are generally complex and cannot be fully understood through a single narrative or assumption.”
He cited Malaysia’s adat perpatih — a customary system that emphasises matrilineality and prioritises women — as an example of how gender dynamics in the region can be more layered than survey data suggests.
At the same time, both Malaysia and Indonesia are pushing policies to increase women’s participation in the workforce.
Malaysia has launched initiatives to equip at least 100,000 women with skills and expand childcare support, while Indonesia aims to raise its female labour force participation rate to 70% by 2045.
Melissa Yoong, associate professor in sociolinguistics at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, said such efforts may be gradually shifting perceptions.
“Gender equality policies have largely focused on women’s economic empowerment, with less attention given to reshaping views about men’s roles and gender relations through social and legal reforms,” she said.
“As a result [of policies], more people may now view women’s pursuit of careers and leadership roles in a positive light.”
Across the region, responses varied significantly.
In Singapore, 64% of respondents said efforts to give women equal rights with men “have gone far enough,” above the global average of 52% — suggesting a perception that gender equality may already have been achieved.
Researchers say this sentiment may be tied to institutional norms, such as national service, that shape views on gender roles and fairness.
According to Singapore-based research group Campus Sexual Misconduct in a Digital Age, this can lead to gender equality being viewed as a zero-sum issue.
“Rather than challenging institutional logic, male grievance is displaced onto women, sustaining a zero-sum framework that legitimises gender-based violence,” the team said.
Casmida added that women may also be perceived as threats to established power structures when individuals feel uncertain about their own futures and opportunities. “However, this perspective misunderstands rights as a zero-sum game, which it is not.”
In countries like Japan and South Korea — often criticised for entrenched patriarchal systems — only 7% and 9% of respondents, respectively, agreed that wives should obey their husbands.
Kyung Hee Ha, an ethnographer and assistant professor at North Carolina State University, said personal attitudes in those countries may diverge from structural inequalities.
“While respondents from both countries recognise institutional disparity, their personal views are not always in alignment with what has been accepted as a norm and they don’t seem to necessarily internalise the social norm.”
The study also highlighted generational tensions globally.
It found that 57% of Gen Z males believe men are being discriminated against amid gender equality efforts — a perception experts say may be driven by economic uncertainty and shifting social expectations.
Yoong noted that younger men, in particular, may feel that gender equality has already been achieved.
“As a result, some young men who feel left behind by institutions and socioeconomic changes may come to blame feminism for their struggles and be drawn to calls for a return to traditional gender norms and family values,” she stated.
