Are young women and men in Switzerland drifting apart?

Keystone / Christian Beutler

Political views of young women and men are drifting apart – a phenomenon that can be observed around the world. A major opinion poll conducted by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) shows where these differences are particularly striking.

The topic that will most likely cause controversy between young women and men is the treatment of minorities. This is the finding of the major opinion poll “How are you, Switzerland?” carried out by the gfs.bern research institute on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company. Analysis of the responses given by 16- to 39-year-olds shows:

• 63% of young men consider “woke” and “gender” to be pseudo-problems of affluent people in urban centres; 54% of young women are of the opposite opinion.
• 65% of young men believe that you should be able to speak your mind, even if it offends others; 59% of young women don’t agree.
• 46% of young women are bothered by racist jokes made in their circle of friends; 74% of young men don’t feel the world is coming to an end because of it.

Despite the tolerance of young women towards minorities, 64% say they couldn’t imagine having a romantic relationship with someone whose political views clearly differ from their own. For 52% of young men, this would not pose a problem.

Evidently, young women and men don’t disagree on all issues. For example, a majority, regardless of their gender, feels satisfied with their lives. However, clear differences can be observed in a whole range of topics.

The methodology of the survey

The results of the “How are you, Switzerland?” poll are based on a representative survey of 51,182 Swiss residents and Swiss Abroad. It was conducted by the gfs.bern research institute in May and June 2024 on behalf of the SBC. This is the second time this survey has been carried out. Compared to the previous year’s version, some of the questions were new or different, but most were identical.

In all, 3,000 respondents were selected from a online panel by gfs.bern in order to obtain a representative sample of the Swiss population (16 years and older). The sample was stratified according to language region and proportioned according to age and gender.

The other respondents completed the questionnaire online. They were invited to do so via the SBC channels, but decided for themselves whether or not they wanted to participate. This survey method is not representative. Representativeness is achieved by means of specific data weighting and data validation procedures. The questionnaire consisted of around 300 questions. To ensure that an interview did not exceed approx. 20 minutes, gfs.bern did not ask the same questions to all respondents. The sampling error is +/- 1.8 % at 50:50 and 95 % probability.

Take attitudes to work, for example. More than nine out of ten young women agree that a growing number of people are overwhelmed by the stress and the pace at work; this opinion is less significant among young men (79%).

Young men and women disagree more about the statement that you only need to work hard in order to escape poverty: 56% of young men fully or somewhat agree, while 69% of young women say the opposite.

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A similar pattern can be observed on the topic of climate policy: 70% of young women believe that Switzerland should abandon its high standard of living to stop climate change; a slim majority of young men, however, disagree.

It does not come as a surprise that the younger generation doesn’t agree on gender equality. Are men and women treated equally in Swiss society? Three out of four young women say “no”, while 58% of young men answer “yes”. One reason for this discrepancy could be the different personal experiences: while 57% of young women say they have experienced discrimination based on their gender, this is true for only 18% of young men.

According to Urs Bieri from gfs.bern, these figures show “young women’s growing impatience regarding the gender situation”. They up in an environment which tells them everyone is equal, he notes.

“But when they then experience this differently in their daily lives, they react irreconcilably towards the privileged, i.e. men,” says Bieri.

Could this pose a threat to Switzerland’s political system? the researcher is not worried: “There are still enough elements holding Swiss society together.”

Broad agreement between urban and rural areas

The often-invoked divide between urban and rural areas isn’t evident in the opinion poll “How are you, Switzerland?”. For instance take the following statement: “‘Woke’ and ‘gender’ are pseudo-problems of affluent urban people. Differences between urban and rural areas can be observed but are comparatively small. In the countryside, 67% of respondents fully or somewhat agree, while in large urban zones this is the case for 56% of respondents.

A similar pattern can be found for another statement with a gender divide among young people: “Men and women are treated equally in Swiss society.” In the cities, 58% rather or completely disagree, in the countryside the figure is 55%.

For the statement: “Switzerland takes too little care of its rural regions”, although there is no consensus, there’s no actual “divide”. In rural areas, 56% agreed or somewhat agreed, whereas in major conurbations only a slim majority of 51% said “no”.

Adapted from German by Claire Micallef/ac