Gender Equality and Sustainable Societies: The Role of Identity Salience, Ideological Beliefs, and Support for Feminism

Abstract

The pursuit of gender equality and inclusive societies—key goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda—depends in part on public alignment with feminist movements. This study examines associations between ideological beliefs, gender identity salience, and identification across multiple social categories and support for feminism in Spain. Drawing on a nationally representative sample (N = 3928) from the 2024 CIS survey, we assess whether individuals who view gender as their most salient identity report higher support for feminism, and whether progressive ideological orientations—such as left–right political positioning, environmental values, and lower moral conservatism—as well as broader single-axis identifications across social domains, are linked to feminist alignment. Results from descriptive and regression analyses indicate that support for feminism is strongly associated with ideological and environmental values, while gender identity salience shows no independent association once these beliefs are taken into account. Analyses conducted separately for women and men suggest different patterns: among women, feminist support aligns with progressive values and broader identifications; among men, greater gender salience coexists with some marginalized identifications but is not positively linked to feminist alignment. These findings highlight that value-oriented and multi-identity approaches are more effective in fostering feminist engagement than appeals based solely on gender salience. The study outlines implications for inclusive policy, civic education, and cross-sector strategies to advance SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).