What the Backlash Against Women’s Leadership Tells Us About Young Men

This article by RepresentWomen's Katie Usalis was published in Ms. magazine. She interivews Richard Reeves, an author and researcher focused on boys and men, and Michelle Harrison, founder of the Reykjavík Index for Leadership. Read the introduction below.

At this year’s Reykjavík Global Forum in November, where 500 global leaders from public and private sectors convened in Iceland, the mood around gender equality was both urgent and reflective. Progress that once felt inevitable now looks fragile. The Reykjavík Index for Leadership reveals concerning declines in how women are perceived for leadership roles across major economies, while conversations about young men and boys have become more heated, polarized and emotionally charged.

While at the forum, I spoke with Richard Reeves, an author and researcher focused on boys and men, and Michelle Harrison, the founding force behind the Reykjavík Index for Leadership, about what’s really going on—and what comes next. Their insights help clarify the current backlash, the urgency of centering young people, and why gender equality must remain a shared project—one that includes all of us.

Katie Usalis: We’re seeing backlash across democracies and worrying data on attitudes toward women’s leadership. What are you seeing in the Reykjavík Index this year?

Michelle Harrison: When we first started tracking the Reykjavík Index for Leadership—which measures how suitable women and men are perceived to be for leadership positions—we saw two fairly stable groups within the G7.

In the higher performing group were the U.K., Canada, France and the U.S. The lower performers were Japan, Italy and Germany. That basic structure held for a while. But now, the picture is shifting—and not in a good way.

Nothing is getting better across the G7, with two exceptions: Italy and Japan have actually improved and moved up in the rankings. That’s important good news. But elsewhere:

• The U.S. has fallen from the top three to sixth, and the drop is significant.
  
• The U.K. only remains near the top because it started so high; it has also seen a major decline.
  
• France and Canada stay near the top, but their scores are also falling.
  
• Germany, which was already near the bottom, has now dropped to the bottom and deteriorated further.
  

Overall, we’re looking at a significant regression.

What’s truly new is what we see among young people. Across the G7, we’re witnessing something we haven’t seen before in social history since we started tracking: young people pushing back culturally against the progressive values of their parents. That backlash is strongest among young men—but we see it among young women too.

And it’s polarized. There are very progressive young people who believe in equality wholeheartedly, and there are young people moving in the opposite direction. That split, and how fast it is widening, is deeply alarming.

Read the complete interview on Ms. here.