Pushpa II, a mega-hit with record box office collections, is a typical masala film filled with overt misogyny. So are Animal and Kabir Singh. Together, they have elevated sexism and misogyny to unprecedented levels. And yet, they have drawn audiences much bigger than most other films. Why? Is it because a growing segment of men, feeling sidelined and frustrated, are finding some vicarious pleasure in such portrayals of skewed gender dynamics on screen? Has the rapid ascent of women in recent years irked them? How are these frustrations going to affect India's sociopolitical dynamics?
While the world is far from achieving true gender equality, the pace of change in recent years has indeed unsettled some. Girls consistently outshining boys academically has been an old trend. Now, accelerated changes are taking place. More women have begun to enter boardrooms; they are excelling at IITs and IIMs, challenging the gender pay gap in the entertainment industry, and winning accolades in sports. All this is unfolding right now and at a pace India has not seen before.
In 2014, women accounted for only 6% of board members in NIFTY-500 companies, a figure that has since tripled to 18%. Female enrolment in BTech programs at IITs was a mere 8% in 2017 but has risen to 20% now. Similarly, the share of women at IIMs has increased from 13% in 2004 to 31% today. At the recent Paris Olympics, Manu Bhaker became the first Indian athlete to win two medals at the same event. Had it not been for Vinesh Phogat's unfortunate disqualification, women would have outperformed men in India's Olympic medal tally with a coveted gold.
Globally, too, the push for gender parity has gained momentum in recent years. In the United States, for example, the proportion of women in corporate boardrooms has risen from 16% in 2012 to 30% in 2022. A Bank of America Securities report cited by CNBC noted that women comprised 20% of boardroom members in Asia in 2022, a seven-percentage-point increase from 2010. Female representation in boardrooms is widely regarded as a critical benchmark for gender equality.
However, the world over, this assertion of women's equal rights has coincided with a growing sense of resentment, particularly among younger men who feel things have gone too far. A 2024 Ipsos global survey found that over half of Gen Z and Millennials believe that efforts to achieve gender equality in their countries have gone too far, to the detriment of their own interests. Older men, the survey shows, do not share such sentiment as they grew up in an era with fewer challenges to male dominance.
Ipsos surveys have observed that the attitudinal change is intensifying over the years. “More people think that when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in their country (41% in 2019 vs. 54% in 2023 / 2024).” The proportion of GenZ and millennial males with such views is much higher at 60% and 57%, respectively.
The attitudinal changes are getting reflected in political outcomes across the world, from the US and the UK to South Korea, Poland, Germany and France. Analysing the US presidential verdict, a columnist for The Guardian writes: “In 2024, men aged between 18 and 29 turned out in force for Trump, with the Republican winning the demographic by 14 points, overturning a generational trend that has for decades seen young people favour left-leaning candidates….Trump's victory in the ‘manosphere' is just one part of an unprecedented phenomenon across the world, in which the politics of a single generation has split across the gender divide.”
A Young Population
With such sweeping changes worldwide, can India remain insulated? Highly unlikely. Millennials and Gen Z (essentially those born in the 1980s and later) comprise 52% of the population of India—a significantly higher share than the global average of 47%. This will have a profound impact on India. Given that a majority of India's population is susceptible to attitudinal shifts driven by the quest for gender parity, the issue of gender justice—or the lack thereof—is poised to become one of the most significant political flashpoints during elections.
While predicting the future is inherently risky, we can venture a few guesses about the impending changes. The dominant theme of campus politics may shift. Traditional left, right, and centrist divisions may give way to party alignments based on what they offer to specific genders. Highly desirable pro-women initiatives, which are increasingly gaining traction and winning elections, may need to be balanced with incentives targeting other segments. Additionally, fair gender representation in state assemblies and Parliament will likely become a focal point of the political discourse going forward.
To understand how family dynamics might evolve, we should examine how men and women currently spend their time. According to a government report: “At an all-India level, male population of age six years and above spent 67 minutes in unpaid activities, 240 minutes in paid activities and 1,133 minutes in residual other activities (self-development/ self-care/self-maintenance, etc), while female population spent 305 minutes in unpaid activities, 56 minutes in paid activities and 1,079 minutes in residual other activities.” The stark divergence in the time spent on paid activities between men and women highlights the existing gender imbalance. As these numbers converge, the traditional family unit as we know it is bound to undergo transformation. This shift will have far-reaching implications for family structures, marriages and society as a whole as more women exercise their agency and rights.
These changes are necessary to create a much more equal world. But are we ready for it?
(The author is Consulting Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
