The Views of Spanish Undergraduates on Gender Equality, Parental Responsibilities and Joint-Custody

Abstract

In recent years we have witnessed concerted efforts to achieve real equality between men and women through legislative reform in the European Union (i.e., EU Directives 2002/73/EC; 76/207/EEC), and nationwide in Spain (e.g., Law 3/2007, of 22 March, for Effective Gender Equality) as well as regional legislation (e.g., Law 7/2004, 16 July, Galician Law for the Equality of Women and Men). In view of the principle of equal rights enshrined in legislative reform, one would expect social change entailing the removal of existing inequalities on the grounds of sex. In order to explore the views of Spanish youth regarding gender equality, a pioneering field study was carried out to assess their knowledge of current legislation, and to examine their views towards gender equality, particularly in relation to specific issues such as family, divorce, separation, joint-custody, sexual relationships, education, and employment. More over, perceived or real models of equality were contrasted with ideal or desired models of equality. Thus, a total of 2071 Spanish undergraduates were administered an ad hoc questionnaire. The results reveal the vast majority of undergraduates favoured gender equality, and the equal participation of women and men in family and working life as well as joint-custody in cases of divorce or separation. Nevertheless, differences in gender were observed i.e., more women supported policies promoting the principle of equality than men. The findings underscore the need for implementing intervention strategies designed to foster shared responsibility and address different forms of discrimination based on sex in the family and the workplace and to combat them.