YouGov asks more than a thousand women to share what they think men are missing
Remarks by actress Saoirse Ronan have gone viral recently following her recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show with fellow actors Paul Mescal, Eddie Redmayne and Denzel Washington.
In the episode, Redmayne had been explaining that he had been taught how to use a phone as a weapon while training for his role as an assassin in The Day of the Jackal, which drew a question from Mescal on whether anyone would realistically have time to take their phone out when being attacked. This prompted Ronan to say: "That's what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right ladies?"
Ronan's reply has prompted much discussion on social media about women's safety in society, and how many men are completely unaware of the additional concerns that women face in everyday situations and the actions they take to try and feel safer.
By happenstance, a recent YouGov Qualitative study conducted in early October had asked more than 1,100 women to tell us, in their own words, what they would want men to know about what it is like being a woman in Britain.
The results were analysed by YouGov qualitative researchers using our AI-powered insights tool Yabble, which identifies common themes, sub-themes and sentiment in the responses, themes and sentiment in the open-end responses, allowing us to collect, analyse and report a broad range of voices in a fraction of the time and manual effort such complex studies would usually require.
The responses highlighted not just a belief that men are unaware of safety concerns that women have, but also included wider issues around unseen obligations and obstacles women face in relationships, family life, and the workplace, as well as ways in which women’s health concerns are not considered.
‘Women really do walk with keys in their hand at night just in case’
The most pressing challenge that women felt men needed greater awareness and understanding of was women’s safety, gender-based violence and harassment – which some referred to as an ‘epidemic.’ Women spoke of ‘constant hypervigilance’ where the fear of harassment or violence prompts a variety of safety measures, i.e. self-imposed curfews (not venturing out late at night) and clutching their keys walking home as makeshift weapons.
How terrifying it is sometimes just existing – how I always know where my keys are and constantly looking behind me when walking in the dark/at night. How intimidating and disgusting some men can be – how frequent and rife harassment and misogyny is.
There was a feeling that few men understood just how widespread and frequent harassment – particularly street-based harassment – is. Whilst women appreciate the problem does not stem from all men, they point out that this knowledge is of no comfort when it is impossible to tell at a glance which men will and will not be a danger to them, and that a vital step forward would be holding others accountable and understanding more about the issue.
We're scared of all of you until we know you. It's not all men, but how on earth are we supposed to know that, when it is some men? If your friends are predators or sexist or both, call them out on it publicly and defend women against their views and deeds. We need you as allies.
‘I often have to juggle many roles’
Women spoke about the challenges of managing maternal responsibilities, childcare, ‘mum guilt’ and domestic labour whilst also holding down a job. Structural issues such as the expense of childcare, low statutory maternity pay and wage inequality exacerbate the difficulty of this process.
Women are still treated as a lower class. They still have lower paid jobs, are still expected to carry the burden of housework, rearing children and caring for parents, even if they work full time.
Alongside these financial challenges sits emotional and functional challenges. Whilst some of the women in the sample (notably those aged 60+) remark on the progress made in the workplace for women and therefore that women-specific challenges are a thing of the past, younger women noted the pressure to ‘be able to do it all’ in a world where they ‘can’t win.’
Workplaces punish us for needing to make adjustments for childcare, and yet we’re still expected to be 100% present for our children, and childcare costs a fortune. We’re straddling the lines between working and being a stay-at-home-mum, and neither side is truly sustainable.
‘The healthcare for women is severely flawed’
Women cited the ‘debilitating’ impact of biological challenges such as pregnancy, periods, and menopause that follow women throughout their lives.
Menopause and periods should receive more acknowledgment as problems that women face. Menopause side effects can disrupt sleep for years and period cramps are painful.
There is a feeling that women’s health issues are predominantly misunderstood, with men not necessarily perceiving the real-world impact that this has.
I think I'd like more understanding and education for men surrounding perimenopause and menopause as these can be extremely challenging and difficult times for women.
There are also specific health problems such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which feel chronically under researched and a battle to diagnose. Some referred to women’s healthcare as ‘being left to fend for themselves.’
How do women want men to react to this information?
Ultimately, what women were looking for was increased sympathy, awareness, and understanding of these specific issues, and respect for the challenges that women endure. Increased allyship, especially for issues such as gender-based violence, also felt crucial for any progress to be made. Nonetheless, some women expressed apathy and fatigue, with responses such as ‘I wouldn’t know where to start’ and ‘I think it would be pointless to even try and explain the challenges that most women face’, indicating both the extent of the challenges faced, and the lack of faith that greater understanding would help.
YouGov AI Qual Explorer is our innovative new service allowing clients to ask open questions to large numbers of people to discover what they think in their own words, using a powerful AI tool to identify common themes, sub-themes and sentiment in the responses in a fraction of the time and manual effort such complex studies would usually require.
If you would like to explore how you could use YouGov AI Qual Explorer, get in touch with us here.
Photo: Getty
