ABSTRACT
The public’s opinion on gender equality is an important factor in political processes shaping gender equality (policies). This chapter argues that the literature on gender equality attitudes is dominated by an implicit progress bias and ethnocentrism, which veils the question whether the forces that shape the opposition to gender equality are the other side of the same coin leading to more support. Here I empirically engage this question by comparing patterns for average popular support for economic gender equality and homosexuality on the one hand and the (strong) opposition against these on the other. This is done for 29 European countries, 2002–2014. The results indicate the following. Strong opposition to gender equality seems to have its own dynamic to some extent: A small resilient group is found across countries, but it seems that once people have become neutral or moderately opposing gender equality they do not easily become strong opposers, not even when the overall support declines. Strong opposition is well explained by core individual characteristics from the general literature (education, religion, age). At the same time, some nuances are in play. For instance, the gap between Muslims and others seems smaller for strong opposition than general support.
