The Young Generation's Attitudes Towards Gender Equality And Roles In Tunisia

Women,being an important societal entity,have been discriminated against throughout history all around the world,which has led to multiple international organizations such as Human Rights Watch,the United Nations,the Convention for Elimination of all Discriminations Against Women,and other NGOs to stand up and make changes through implemented laws.Since the independence of Tunisia in 1956,a modern shift in gender policies has been adopted and been reformed up until this day seeking to protect women against any type of discrimination.Women in Tunisia have consistently been a focus of attention which led the country to be the first State supporting feminism in the Middle East and North Africa region.These social reforms brought a new aspect to gender roles.The result has been a shift from traditional roles of men being breadwinners and women being homemakers to more modernized roles where men and women share the same roles outside and inside the household due to the increasing participation and representation of women in Tunisian society.The social transition of women's roles eventually affected attitudes towards gender equality where gender stereotyping becomes less visible among the young generation.The development of gender beliefs of young people is influenced by different social institutions such as families,schools,the labor market,and policies.These show if women participate same as men and how well they are represented.This research attempts to examine this phenomenon empirically by adopting a quantitative methodology to measure Tunisia's young generation's attitudes towards gender roles through a survey(N = 317)sent to young Tunisians between the age of 15 and 35 in and outside of Tunisia.The survey included two subscales(1)to determine young Tunisians' attitudes towards gender roles across the range from traditional to egalitarian,and(2)to check their level of individualism(vertical or horizontal).Participants also provided demographics on their gender,level of education,and cities of birth and residence to enhance the analysis.This study first historically examines how Tunisia's reforms in the frame of gender equality such as family laws,education,employment,and politics,have a strong influence on young Tunisians' attitudes towards gender roles.It then quantitatively demonstrates that there is a relationship between the gender of young Tunisians and their attitudinal path towards gender equality where young females are more egalitarian than young males,although both genders fall together into the egalitarianism spectrum.Besides,their attitudes towards gender roles differ depending on their place of birth and place of residence,but their educational levels do not have any significant effect on their attitudes.Evidence also reveals that young Tunisians' gender role attitudes are affected by their perspective on individualism,which can be equated as a consequence of gender equality reforms in Tunisia.The integration of these research findings suggests how building a gender egalitarian system might shape attitudes of young Tunisians and therefore can help reduce prejudice,stereotypes,and discrimination.