One in three Catalans believes the feminist movement has gone too far. This figure reveals a significant gender divide and has steadily climbed over the past three years. The findings come from the latest annual social survey by the Centre for Opinion Studies (CEO), the official polling body for the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Conducted between 9 October and 9 December 2025, the extensive survey, based on 6,706 interviews, shows that 33% of the population agrees that feminism has “gone too far.” This marks a gradual increase from 30% in 2023 and 32% in 2024. Conversely, 38% of respondents disagree, highlighting a deeply divided society on the issue of feminism.

Published yesterday and first reported by La Vanguardia, this data highlights persistent sexist attitudes just before International Women’s Day on 8 March. It suggests significant challenges remain in advancing gender equality in Catalonia.

A Deepening Gender and Generational Divide

The sentiment is most pronounced among men, with nearly four in ten (38.9%) believing the feminist movement has overreached. This compares to just over a quarter of women (26.5%) who share the same view. This gap extends to other gender-related issues explored in the poll.

A contentious point in public discourse, the issue of false accusations in cases of gender-based violence, also reveals a stark difference in perception. The survey found that 38% of Catalans believe some women file false complaints “to obtain economic benefits and harm their partner.” This view is held by a striking 44.3% of men, compared to 31.3% of women. As previous Barna.News reporting has highlighted, such beliefs have become a cause for alarm among equality advocates.

Similarly, one-third of Catalans (33%) feel that criticism of sexist jokes is “exaggerated.” Again, men (39.9%) are significantly more likely to hold this opinion than women (26.6%).

The survey also uncovers a clear generational split. The age group most aligned with the feminist movement appears to be those aged 25 to 34, where only 26.5% feel it has gone too far. Conversely, the most reactive group is those aged 35 to 49, where 36.7% express this view. This suggests that attitudes towards feminism are not simply a linear progression with age but are shaped by complex generational experiences, a trend also observed in surveys on the political leanings of Catalan youth.

Perceptions of Inequality and Identity

Catalans rated the level of inequality at an average of 6.1 on a scale where 0 represented extreme disadvantage for men and 10 for women. This indicates a general view that women remain disadvantaged, although this perception has slightly weakened from 6.3 in 2023 and 6.2 in 2024.

Once more, gender shapes perspective: men rated the level of inequality at an average of 5.59, closer to the midpoint, while women placed it at 6.54. Interestingly, the survey shows that older generations perceive greater inequality against women (6.27 for those over 65) than younger people do (5.72 for those aged 16 to 24).

The CEO poll also gauged public acceptance of various identities and relationships. On a 0-10 scale from negative to positive perception, trans and non-binary people scored an average acceptance of 5.7. Acceptance for “young bisexuals, gays or lesbians” was slightly lower at 5.3. Non-traditional relationship models scored 5.1, suggesting societal acceptance still lags behind legal and social advancements.

Hardening Attitudes Towards Immigration

The survey’s findings on gender do not exist in isolation; they run parallel to a noticeable hardening of attitudes towards immigration.

Four in ten Catalans (40%) now incorrectly believe that more than half of the region’s population was born abroad. The actual figure is approximately one in four (25.1%).

Perceptions of immigration’s benefits are also declining. For instance, the view that immigration enriches Catalonia’s cultural life has fallen from an average of 6.0 (out of 10) in 2023 to 5.4 in 2025. Similarly, comfort levels with a child entering a relationship with a person of Maghrebi or Arab descent have dropped from 5.4 to 4.8 in the same period. This points to a broader trend of growing social conservatism, which may influence views across multiple issues, including feminism.