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Attitudes towards gender roles
Employment status had a limited impact on attitudes that trivialised domestic violence. Residents in Wagga Wagga that were currently unemployed (5.7%) at the time of the survey were 2.93 times more likely to agree that domestic violence should be handled privately than those who were employed (2.2%). No other differences were found between the employment status groups.
No differences were found between income levels in Wagga Wagga residents and trivialising domestic violence attitudes.
Comments & Recommendations
• There are conflicting results on age about trivialising DV. Younger people consider it a private matter even when they recognised that women couldn’t leave an abusive relationship if they wanted to. ATSI and other ethnicities had the attitude that women could leave a violent relationship if they wanted to. Other ethnicities also consider it a private matter whilst ATSI held views that women make up DV for custody battles. In general, more educated individuals were less likely to trivialise DV. • More efforts are required with younger people, ATSI, other ethnicities and those with lower education in understanding DV as not something to be trivialised. Attitudes towards gender roles and power dynamics
Attitudes towards gender roles
Attitudes towards gender roles
Stereotypical and narrow constructs about appropriate roles for males and females in private and public spheres, hostility towards women who breach these traditional gender roles, and beliefs of gender inequality all express harmful gender role attitudes (Webster et al., 2018). The levels of agreement in the Wagga Wagga community for the statements that assess attitudes towards gender roles from 2021 to 2016 can be found in the figure below (see Figure 13). Encouragingly in 2021 only a small percentage of the community agree with the statements that reinforce gender roles, with all statements receiving less than 10% of agreement in Wagga Wagga, compared to 2016 when four of the five beliefs receiving agreement levels above 10%. This reduction in the reinforcement of gender roles was significant across all five statements. In 2016, residents in the Wagga Wagga community were 2.1 times more likely to agree that men make better leaders, 2.5 times more likely to agree men have more right to a job, and 2.4 times more likely to agree that women need children to be fulfilled, than residents in 2021. Residents in 2016 were also 3 times more likely to agree university is more important to boys, and 1.4 times more likely to agree discrimination against women is not a problem in the workplace than they do in 2021. Overall, there has been a significant improvement in the Wagga Wagga community on their attitudes towards gender roles.
Figure 13. Responses (as percentages of the entire survey population who agree) to statements about gender roles.
Gender
Consistent with 2016, males and females differed on four of the five attitudes toward gender roles, with university education is more important for boys receiving similar levels of agreement. Overall, males are more likely to agree with the attitude statements on gender role than females in Wagga Wagga (see Table 22). Males were 5 times more likely to agree that men make better leaders, 2.2 times more likely to agree men have more right to a job, and 2.1 times more likely to agree women need children to be fulfilled than females. Finally, males in the Wagga Wagga community in 2021 were 6.2 times more likely to agree discrimination against women is not a problem in the workplace, than females.
Age
The attitudes towards gender roles were similar across the different age groups in Wagga Wagga. The only difference that was found was between 40-55-year-old residents and those aged 56 and above on the attitude that men make better leaders. Residents aged between 40 and 55 (6.8%) were 2.6 times more likely to agree men make better leaders, than residents aged 56 and older (2.9%).
Table 22. Responses (as percentages of the entire survey population who agree) to statements about gender roles, separated by gender.
Males % Females % Significance Difference
Men make better leaders than women 8.8 1.8 Yes
When jobs are scarce, men have more right to a job than women 5.1 2.6 Yes
A woman has to have children to be fulfilled 10.3 4.8 Yes
A university education is more important for a boy 1.6 0.7 No
Discrimination against women is no longer a problem in the workplace 10.5 2.0 Yes
Note: *indicates a significant difference
Ethnicity
The only differences between ethnicity groups in Wagga Wagga on attitudes toward gender roles were between the Anglo-Saxons and Other ethnicities. Differences were found for the attitudes that men make better leaders, women need children to be fulfilled, and university is more important for boys (see table 23). Specifically, the Other ethnicity (13.2%) were 3.4 times more likely to agree that men make better leaders, than Anglo-Saxon residents (4.4%). The Other ethnicity (22.6%) were also 3.6 times more likely to agree that women need children to be fulfilled, than Anglo-Saxons (6.8%). Finally, the Other ethnicity residents (7.5%) were 8.6 times more likely to agree that university is more important for boys than Anglo-Saxon residents (0.9%). No difference was found between the Other ethnicity groups and the ATSI residents, as 0% of the ATSI residents agreed, violating the requirement of variation in scores for detecting significant differences.
Table 23. Responses (as percentages of the entire survey population who agree) to statements about gender roles, separated by ethnicity.
Men make better leaders than women AngloSaxon % ATSI % Other % Significant Differences
4.4 9.8 13.2 Yes
When jobs are scarce, men have more right to a job than women 3.4 13.1 1.9 No
Discrimination against women is no longer a problem in the workplace Note: *indicates a significant difference
Education and Employment
Few differences were found for education and employment on attitudes towards gender roles in Wagga Wagga in 2021. The only difference for Education levels was for the attitude that men make better leaders. Individuals with a high school education (8.9%) were 5.7 times more likely to agree men make better leaders than individuals who went to university (2.6%), while residents who went to TAFE or Trade school (5.9%) were 2.9 times more likely to agree men make better leader than residents with a university education. For employment status, residents who were currently unemployed (13.5%) at the time of the survey were 3.2 times more likely to agree that women need children to be fulfilled than the employed residents (5.1%).
Income
Income had an impact on three of the six attitudes toward gender roles. Residents earning between $101,000 and $150,000 (5.5%) were 3.2 times more likely to agree men make better leaders than those earning $50,000 or less (3.7%). Conversely, individuals earning $50,000 or less (7.1%) were 3 times more likely to agree men have more right to a job than individuals earning between $51,000 and $100,000 (1.7%). Finally, residents earning $150,000 or more (11.9%) were 3 times more likely to agree that discrimination against women is not a problem in the workplace than residents earning $50,000 or less (3.4%).
Comments & Recommendations
• Males, older people, other ethnicities, lower educated/income tend to hold more traditional gender roles.
Further work is required with these cohorts about gender roles as it is one of the drivers of DV.
The socio-political context where of power and control in a community is used as a tool to maintain male domination directly or indirectly over women within a patriarchal system can perpetuate domestic violence (Bograd, 1988; Rees & Pease, 2007; Renzetti, 2004). From 2016 to 2021 the attitudes towards decision-making in relationships significantly changed in the residents in Wagga Wagga (refer to table 24). Specifically, Wagga Wagga residents in 2016 were 1.5 times more likely to agree it is natural for men to be in control/head of the household than 2021. Additionally, residents in 2016 were 3.6 times more likely to agree women prefer a man to be in charge than residents in 2021. As such, there has been a significant improvement in attitudes in the Wagga Wagga community about attitudes towards decision-making in relationships.
Table 24. Responses (as percentages of the entire survey population who agree) to statements about decisionmaking in relationships.
It is natural for men to be in control in relationships and be the head of the household* Wagga Wagga 2021 % Wagga Wagga 2016 % Significant Difference
9.4 19.8 Yes
Women prefer a man to be in charge of the relationship* 4.1 18.1 Yes
Note: *indicates a significant difference
Gender
Differences between males and females in Wagga Wagga were still found in 2021 for both attitudes about decision making in relationships. Males (13.6%) were 2.3 times more likely to agree that it is natural for men to be in control/head of the household, than females (5.7%). Similarly, males (6.8%) were 4.4 times more likely to agree that women prefer a man to be in charge, than females (1.7%). As such, males in Wagga Wagga are more likely than the females in Wagga Wagga to agree with the attitudes about decision-making in relationships.
Age
Age group only had an impact on the attitude that it is natural for men to be in control/head of the household. The youngest group in the sample (18-24; 16.7%) were 2.3 more likely to agree that it is natural for men to be in control/head of the household than residents aged 40 to 55 (5.6%). Conversely, the oldest group in the sample (55+; 8.8%) were 2.2 times more likely to agree than residents aged between 40 and 55.
Ethnicity
Attitudes towards decision making differed across the three ethnicity groups, with Anglo-Saxon having the lowest levels of agreement (see table 25). Other ethnicities were 2.8 times more likely to agree that it is natural for men to be in control/head of the household than Anglo-Saxons, while no difference was found with the ATSI community in Wagga Wagga. Additionally, Other ethnicities were 6.5 times more likely to agree that women prefer a man to be in charge than Anglo-Saxons, and ATSI residents were 3.8 times more likely to agree than AngloSaxons.
Table 25. Responses (as percentages of the entire survey population who agree) to statements about decisionmaking in relationships, separated by ethnicity.
