Description

The Gender-Equitable Men Scale (GEMS) is an internationally recognized psychometric instrument developed to assess attitudes, beliefs, and social norms related to gender equality and masculinity. The scale measures the extent to which individuals endorse either equitable or traditional gender norms, providing valuable insight into perceptions regarding gender roles, relationships, family responsibilities, sexuality, and gender-based violence.

Originally developed by Pulerwitz and Barker, the GEMS has been translated and validated in numerous countries and cultural contexts. It is widely used in psychology, public health, sociology, education, and gender studies to evaluate gender-related attitudes and to assess the impact of interventions promoting gender equality.

The instrument is organized around two primary dimensions:

  • Factor 1 – Inequitable Gender Norms, which assesses endorsement of traditional and unequal beliefs regarding gender roles, male dominance, relationships, violence, and sexuality.
  • Factor 2 – Equitable Gender Norms, which evaluates support for shared decision-making, responsible fatherhood, mutual respect, gender equality, and healthy interpersonal relationships.

Data Analysis and Applications

The GEMS provides a comprehensive assessment of gender-related attitudes and is widely used in both research and applied settings. The findings can be utilized to:

  • Evaluate attitudes toward gender equality and traditional gender norms.
  • Assess beliefs related to masculinity, family roles, sexuality, and interpersonal relationships.
  • Measure the effectiveness of educational, community-based, and public health interventions promoting gender equality.
  • Investigate associations between gender attitudes and outcomes such as intimate partner violence, sexual health, parenting practices, psychological well-being, and social inclusion.
  • Support research in psychology, sociology, education, public health, and gender studies.
  • Compare gender norm attitudes across different demographic groups, cultures, and countries.

The scale has become one of the most frequently used instruments for monitoring changes in gender attitudes following prevention and awareness programs.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Gender-Equitable Men Scale (GEMS) is to provide a reliable assessment of attitudes toward gender equality and to identify the extent to which individuals support or reject traditional gender stereotypes. The instrument also serves as an important evaluation tool for interventions designed to promote equitable relationships, positive masculinities, shared family responsibilities, and the prevention of gender-based violence.

Scoring

The GEMS consists of a series of statements that are typically rated using a Likert-type agreement scale, with respondents indicating the degree to which they agree or disagree with each statement.

Scoring generally includes:

  • Total Score, reflecting overall attitudes toward gender equality.
  • Subscale Scores, representing equitable and inequitable gender norms.
  • Higher scores indicating stronger endorsement of gender-equitable attitudes and greater support for equality, depending on the scoring procedure and reverse-coded items.
  • Lower scores reflecting greater acceptance of traditional or inequitable gender norms.

Responses to negatively worded items are reverse-scored before calculating the overall and subscale scores to ensure consistent interpretation.

Statistical Analysis

Statistical analysis of GEMS data typically includes descriptive and inferential statistical procedures, such as:

  • Means, standard deviations, and score distributions.
  • Internal consistency analyses (Cronbach’s α).
  • Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to validate the instrument’s structure.
  • Correlation analyses examining relationships with demographic, psychological, and social variables.
  • Group comparisons using t-tests, ANOVA, or non-parametric statistical tests.
  • Regression and structural equation modeling to investigate predictors of gender-equitable attitudes.

The scale is particularly valuable for longitudinal studies evaluating changes in gender attitudes following educational or behavioral interventions.

Validity

The validity of the GEMS has been supported through numerous international validation studies demonstrating strong construct, convergent, discriminant, and cross-cultural validity. Factor analytic research consistently confirms the multidimensional structure of the instrument, while studies have shown that GEMS effectively differentiates individuals with varying attitudes toward gender equality and predicts behaviors related to gender norms, violence prevention, and relationship quality.

Reliability

The Gender-Equitable Men Scale has demonstrated good to excellent psychometric properties across diverse populations. Validation studies report satisfactory internal consistency, stable test–retest reliability, and consistent performance across different cultural adaptations, supporting its use in both research and intervention evaluation.

References

Pulerwitz, J., & Barker, G. (2008). Measuring attitudes toward gender norms among young men in Brazil: Development and psychometric evaluation of the GEM Scale. Men and Masculinities, 10, 322–338.

Flood, M. (Ed.). Measures for the Assessment of Dimensions of Violence Against Women: A Compendium. Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI).