Indians believe Women make better political leaders and share an egalitarian vision of womens place in Society, but an overwhelming majority agrees
that when there are few jobs available, men should have more rights to a job than women. These are the findings of the latest Pew Research Centre survey of nearly 30,000 adults throughout India interviewed on gender roles in families and societies.
According to the report, while 55% of Indians believed that men and women make equally good political leaders, nine-in-ten Indians agree with the notion that a wife must always obey her husband. Indian women were only slightly less likely than Indian men to agree with this sentiment (61% versus 67%). Although most Indians expressed egalitarian views on gender roles, with 62% saying that both men and women should be responsible for child care, traditional norms still held sway, with 34% convinced that child care should be handled primarily by women.
Similarly, while a slim majority (54%) says that both men and women should be responsible for earning , as many as 43% believed that earning an income is mainly the obligation of men. Also, 80% of Indians agreed with the idea that when there are few jobs, men should have more rights to a job than women.
The survey also found that Indians with a college degree were less likely to hold traditional views on gender roles, although this did not extend to all gender-related issues. So for instance, 80% of the college-educated (as compared with 88% of those with less Education) still agreed with the notion that wives must always obey their husbands.