As of 2026, members of Generation Z (typically defined as born 1996/97–2012) will be approximately 14 to 30 years old. They are the first generation in the developed world to have no recollection of a time before widespread internet access, cellphones, and social media.
They're also the first generation—in the United States—to grow up with women on the Supreme Court and the last major milestone of the women's rights movement, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), signed into law.
And then they watched women's rights come under attack and get rolled back all while self proclaimed "alpha males," "incels," and "trad wives" appear in the global social media feeds.
The influence of such exposure is being seen in a new study published by King’s College of London, unveiled during March for International Women's Day. Adults from 29 countries were surveyed.
One key finding showed:
"Relative to other groups, Generation Z men are the most likely to agree with traditional ideas about not only women’s roles (such as that a wife should always obey her husband), but also men’s (such as that young men should try to be physically tough, even if not naturally big)."
King's College defined the generations in their study as:
- Baby Boomer 1945-1965
- Gen X 1966-1979
- Millennials 1980-1995
- Gen Z born 1996-2012 (only those 18+ were surveyed)
The survey found almost one-third (31%) of Gen Z men (age 18-30) believe that a wife should always obey her husband. A full third (33%) said a husband should have the final say over all big decisions in a marriage.
Meanwhile Baby Boomer men (age 61-81) were far more liberal in their thinking than their younger counterparts. Less than one sixth (13%) believe wives need to obey their husbands and less than one fifth (17%) believe husbands deserve the final say.
Ironically, Baby Boomers experienced the "good old days" that Gen Z men seem to want, before women in most countries surveyed were allowed to own property, get loans, open lines of credit, get a divorce, or make decisions about their own reproductive healthcare without the cosigning or permission of their fathers or husbands.
Almost a quarter of Gen Z men (24%) believe a woman shouldn't appear too independent or self-sufficient and over half believe men are expected to do too much to ensure equality for women. Those numbers compare to only 12% and 45% of Boomer men, respectively.
Over one fifth (21%) of Gen Z men also agreed a man taking an active role in child care made him less masculine. Less than one twelth (8%) of Boomer men agreed.
Gen Z women haven't swallowed the Kool-aid to the extent of their male counterparts, but their views were still more conservative than Baby Boomer women—18% of Gen Z believe a wife should always obey her husband while only 6% of Boomer women feel that way.
On the Psychology of Sex subReddit (r/psychologyofsex), people debated reasons for the results.
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Professor Heejung Chung, Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s Business School of King’s College of London said:
"It is deeply concerning to see traditional gender norms persisting today, and more troubling still that many people appear to be pressured by social expectations that do not actually reflect what most of us believe."
The annual study was conducted by Ipsos in the United Kingdom and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s Business School for the other 28 countries.
Countries included were:
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