The Ipsos Equalities Index 2024 shows interesting findings busting some popular perceptions especially for India, with only 4 in 10 urban Indians polled saying Inequality is a problem in India; while in comparison 52% global citizens felt they were in the throes of inequality.
Interestingly, inequality was perceived to be a bigger issue in Indonesia (79%), Brazil (74%), Colombia (70%), Turkiye (70%), Thailand (70%), South Africa (69%), Mexico (63%), Peru (62%), South Korea (60%), Argentina (58%), Chile (56%), Hungary (55%), Malaysia (54%), Spain (53%), France (52%) etc.
The survey further delved into whether equality has been promoted enough or it needed more efforts. It is not surprising that global citizens (47%) and across most markets polled, especially in Indonesia (73%), Hungary (70%), South Africa (62%), Brazil (61%) the overriding view was the need to go further is promoting equality. However, only 22% Indians held this view.
Discrimination in Society
The survey showed that discrimination in society existed and there were groups experiencing unfair or unequal treatment in the country.
For India, women emerged the most discriminated group (35%), followed by transgender or non-binary people (20%), people with physical disabilities (18%), people with mental health conditions (17%), young adults (15%), men (15%), people from minority ethnic groups (14%), people of specific religions (14%), senior citizens (14%), lesbians, gay men or bisexuals (13%), immigrants (12%) and people who are neuro divergent (10%) as the groups likely to experience most unfair treatment in India.
Accountability for addressing inequality
To make the society fair to all and to reduce inequality, the survey explored who should be taking responsibility and interestingly, 57% Indians put the onus on the government most for bearing the burden of accountability in addressing this issue.
Indians also felt the responsibility rested with the media (29%), individuals (25%), religious leaders (24%), parents and teachers (22%), groups experiencing inequality (13%), employers (13%), advocacy organizations (6%) and someone else (3%).
Among global citizens at least 67% held the govt responsible for creating a fair society and addressing inequality.
Meritocracy in society
At least 42% global citizens and 27% Indians said that people’s chances of success in their country depended mostly on their own merit and efforts. Only 18% Indians said success depended on factors beyond their control.
Agreement among Indians was low for both statements – 21% Indians said a fair society is the one where everyone is given the same opportunities; and 19% Indians said, a fair society is the one where everyone enjoys the same quality of life. Global avg was 45% and 19% respectively for the former and latter statements.
Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India, said, “Inequality is a reality across global cities and is perceived to be far more pronounced in certain global cities by their citizens as compared to India. At this juncture, India is one of the most optimistic countries in the world, helped by high consumer sentiment.
This sense of buoyancy is likely to have resulted in subdued perceptions about inequality which otherwise continues to be a global issue. Discrimination is a societal issue across global markets and certain groups feel unfair treatment or discrimination profoundly, even in india.
Women getting most unfair treatment could probably be in the lower strata, where they are not educated or financially independent, certain biases against certain cohorts do exist and govt initiatives and contribution of all stakeholders in building awareness, laws, can prevent unfair treatment to anyone.
Meritocracy does have the right place in our society where the most deserving largely gets the due, whether we look at admissions in colleges or professional courses or jobs. The onus definitely rests with the govt to ensure fair play.”
Technical note: Ipsos interviewed 21,759 people online in the following countries between February 23 and March 8, 2024. Quotas were set to ensure representativeness and data have been weighted to the known population profile of each country.
The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals each in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals each in Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, and Türkiye.
The sample in India consists of approximately 2,200 individuals, of whom approximately 1,800 were interviewed face-to-face and 400 were interviewed online.
