We love a good survey here at The Cannata Report. Sometimes the more off the wall, the better. Or in the case of the results of the latest survey from Resume Builder, an online resource for job seekers, about the Barbie movie’s impact on gender issues in the workplace. In this instance, the more out of the box, the better.
Apparently, the movie, which is the highest-grossing film of the year in the U.S. to date, is triggering discussions on feminism and patriarchy, perfect timing since we just launched our July/August Women Influencers issue. To better understand how Barbie has impacted viewers’ opinions about gender issues in the workplace, ResumeBuilder.com recently surveyed 300 people who have seen the film.
The Barbie Movie: Love It or Like It
Overall, 62% of women loved the Barbie movie and 31% liked it while 50% of men loved the movie and 43% liked it.
Changing Opinions about Women as Workplace Leaders
The survey also revealed that 94% of all viewers had a favorable opinion of women in the workplace prior to watching the movie, while 53% said it improved their opinion after watching the movie. Additionally, 57% of viewers with conservative political views, 56% of moderates, and 47% of liberals said the film improved their opinion of women in the workplace. Three in four conservative men said Barbie improved their view of women in leadership roles.
The majority (97%) of viewers said before watching the movie they had a “very favorable’’ (63%) or “somewhat favorable” (32%) opinion of women in leadership. The film improved the opinion of women as leaders for 57% of viewers. This was truer for men as well as younger and more conservative viewers. Fully 74% of men who described themselves as conservative, said Barbie improved their view of women in leadership positions.
Overall, the survey found that prior to watching the film 19% believed women were stronger leaders than men, but after watching the film that percentage rose ten points to 29%.
Barbie and Patriarchy in the Workplace
Nearly 2 in 3 of the survey respondents said the movie made them more aware of patriarchy in the workplace. Overall, 81% of respondents believe that patriarchy affects the workplace, and of this group, 79% said the movie ‘definitely’ (34%) or ‘somewhat’ (45%) made them more aware of this (or 64% of the total sample).
Not surprisingly, men are slightly less likely to believe patriarchy affects the workplace than women (77% vs. 84%); however, men who believe patriarchy affects the workplace were more likely than women to say the movie made them more aware of it (82% vs. 76%). Younger viewers were also more likely to believe that patriarchy affects the workplace, and that the movie increased their level of awareness.
When it comes to political views, the survey found that only 57% of conservatives, compared to 87% of liberals and 80% of moderates, believe that patriarchy impacts the workplace. However, 85% of conservative viewers who hold the belief that patriarchy affects the workplace said the movie boosted their level of awareness of the issue.
Closer to Fine
Considering that this survey coincides with the recent launch of The Cannata Report’s Women Influencers issue and the release of the Barbie movie, I couldn’t resist sharing this with our readers. Even though only 300 people were surveyed, the findings still support many of the positive trends surrounding women that we continue to see in the office technology industry ever since we launched our first Women Influencers issue 10 years ago.
Click here to view the complete survey results.
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