Survey on Gender Equality at Home

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• Methodology

  This survey is conducted annually in 208 countries and islands in 80 languages through the Facebook platform. The survey included a total of 75 questions, with each respondent answering no more than 30 questions. Questions were developed collaboratively by a team of economists and gender experts from the World Bank, UN Women, Equal Measures 2030, and Ladysmith. Some of the questions have been borrowed from other surveys that employ alternative modes of administration (e.g., face-to-face, telephone surveys, etc.), allowing for comparability and identification of potential gaps and biases inherent to Facebook and other online survey platforms. As such, the survey also generates methodological insights that are useful to researchers undertaking alternative modes of data collection during the COVID-19 era.

• Key Findings

  • The majority of respondents agree that women and men should have equal opportunities in education, employment, and household decision making.
  • Survey respondents reported thinking that a majority of their neighbors believe men and women should have equal opportunities.
  •  Women are significantly less likely than men to report making consequential decisions at home.
  • Women are significantly more likely than men to spend time cooking and cleaning.
  • Women report spending significantly more time on household chores, which are typically uncompensated activities such as cooking and cleaning.
  • COVID-19 is causing major disruptions to people’s lives. For example, more than 25% of respondents in most regions reported recently experiencing food insecurity.
  • Men are significantly more likely to report owning motorized vehicles and land. Gender disparities in other forms of asset ownership are also notable in multiple regions. There are notable gender differences in male and female respondents’ reported access to resources, to income-generation, and to financial decision-making.