How Indians View Gender Roles in Families and Society

The Pew Research Center, based in Washington D.C., released this report on March 2, 2022, as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project. The project examines the impact of religious change in various communities across the globe. The report was prepared by Jonathan Evans, Neha Sahgal, Ariana Monique Salazar, Kelsey Jo Starr and Manolo Corichi, members of the research team at the Pew Research Center. The researchers surveyed 29,999 Indian adults between November 17, 2019, and March 23, 2020, under the direction of RTI International, a non-profit organisation based in the United States. The respondents included Hindus (22,975), Muslims (3,336), Sikhs (1,782), Christians (1,011), Buddhists (719), Jains (109) and 67 people who belonged to other religions or claimed no religious affiliations. The surveys were conducted in all states and union territories of India except Manipur, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.The survey found that a majority of Indians accept women as political leaders, but favour traditional gender roles in family life. It also looks at several questions regarding gender roles in Indian society in juxtaposition with religious and regional identity.The 74-page report contains an overview followed by three chapters: Views on women’s place in society (Chapter 1); Son preference and abortion (Chapter 2); and Gender roles in the family (Chapter 3). It also contains a note on the methodology followed.