Study launch: Young women in Romania are more supportive of social policies and democracy

The study conducted by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Romania, based on an IPSOS survey across 12 countries in South-Eastern Europe, shows that young women in Romania are more supportive of social policies and minority rights than young men.

Low interest in politics

Interest in politics is generally low among young men and women, but young women show even lower interest, especially from rural areas. 46.7% of young women say they are not interested at all or rather uninterested in politics, compared to 43.3% of young men. On the other hand, only 15.5% of women and 19.8% of men consider politics an area of interest. 53.2% of rural female respondents say they are not interested in politics.

Increased openness towards minority and women's rights

Young women are more open to the rights of ethnic minorities, LGBTQAI+ and poor people and perceive gender discrimination in society to a greater extent. 

• 42.5% of young women believe that women in Romania do not have enough rights, compared to 28.6% of young men. 
• 48.7% of young women believe that ethnic minorities do not have enough rights (vs. 28.6% of young men).
• 42.5% of young women think that LGBTQIA+ people do not have enough rights (vs. 27.4% of young men).

At the opposite pole, we observe a higher degree of intolerance among young men: a higher percentage of young men think that minorities have too many rights (25.5% for ethnic minorities and 42.5% for LGBTQIA+). Among young women, although the percentages are lower, they are still quite high: 19.5% of young women think that ethnic minorities have too many rights, and a quarter (24.4%) have the same perception about the LGBTQIA+ community.
Young men therefore tend to believe that minority groups and women already have adequate, sometimes even excessive, rights. This contrast suggests a lack of perception of the systematic problems faced by these groups.

More support for social policies

The data show that young women are more concerned about social and economic equality, and are more supportive of state intervention to reduce inequalities between rich and poor. 
● 72.5% of young women say the poor do not have enough rights, compared to 59.9% of young men.
● 57% of young women say the incomes of the poor and the rich should be more equal, compared to 53% of young men.
● 62% of young women say that the state should have more participation in the economy and industry, compared to 54% of young men.

Democracy versus authoritarianism

Most young people in Romania say democracy is the best form of government. Gender differences are insignificant: 51.9% of men and 48.4% of women agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. 
However, while only 20% of young women believe that dictatorship is a better form of government than democracy in certain situations, among men this rises slightly to 24.7%, suggesting a greater inclination towards authoritarian regimes. 
On Recommendations, the study shows that there is a need to improve the civic and political education of young people to promote democratic values, active participation, gender equality and minority rights. It is essential to increase the representation of young women in decision-making positions and in politics. Last but not least, political actors should take into account the trends of increasing support for authoritarianism and decreasing trust in democracy and take measures to counter them.

The full study is available at: https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/bukarest/22005.pdf 

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For more information, please contact Tudorina Mihai, tudorina.mihai@fes.de , 021 2110982.