Gender Compass
Gender Compass is a first-of-its-kind research project which aims to segment the broader Australian public according to their beliefs, policy preferences and behaviours in relation to gender equity.
We are far from gender equality in Australia. Knowing how to effectively communicate issues and shift attitudes is crucial to help build a more gender-equal society.
The state of gender equality in Australia
Australian men hold some of the most misogynistic views in the world, with more men in Australia than men in any other survey country, excluding Malaysia, believing that “it’s a woman’s obligation to have sex with her boyfriend or husband even if she doesn’t feel like it” (IPSOS). In Australia, women are still paid less for the same work, with a woman’s average full-time weekly wage still 14.1% less than a man’s (Workplace Gender Equality Agency). And devastatingly, 1-in-3 young women have experienced physical or sexual violence (Our Watch).
Discrimination, inequality and violence are all symptoms of these harmful attitudes and societal norms. To overcome them, we must understand underlying attitudes and behaviours across Australian society.
The research gap on gender equality
Currently, there is little research identifying how best to engage with the Australian public’s existing attitudes on gender equality. We lack fundamental knowledge on who we should be speaking to, what we should be speaking to them about and what they consider the biggest challenges blocking a gender-equal future.
As Plan International Australia, we have brought together charities, academics and other stakeholders, to drive this research and transform how we engage Australians in conversations about gender equality.
A tool to inform gender advocacy
We are creating a ‘Gender Compass’ – an audience segmentation tool that will inform more effective gender equality advocacy.
We will conduct comprehensive research to segment the broader Australian public according to their beliefs, values, policy preferences, motivators, risk perceptions and behaviours in relation to gender equity. We’ll use this evidence base to target specific audiences and develop recommendations on how to communicate with each group to shift their attitudes and mobilise them to take action.
This tool will be essential in helping to shift toxic attitudes against women. It will be shared publicly and freely for all to use.
This research is based on the groundbreaking ‘Climate Compass’ project Australia.