23rd February 2026
Public attitudes in Lithuania are shifting. In a 2018 survey, as many as 61 % of respondents agreed with the statement that a man should earn more than his wife or partner. By 2025, the share of those holding this view had fallen to 36 %. These changes in public opinion were revealed by a survey commissioned by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson.
The Changing Concept of Masculinity
According to Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson Birutė Sabatauskaitė, the survey data suggest that society is increasingly questioning the idea that income should depend on gender.
“At last, we are seeing clearer shifts in public attitudes about income within couples. For many years, the prevailing belief was that a man must earn more or even be the sole provider for the family. Earning more than one’s partner was often placed alongside other unrealistic standards of masculinity,” the Ombudsperson notes.
The expectation that a man must earn more is not the only fading stereotype. The survey also shows that over the past seven years, the share of people who believe that it is inappropriate for men to cry has more than halved.
Men’s Attitudes Have Changed the Most
The survey results indicate that men’s attitudes have shifted the most. In 2018, 63 % of men agreed with the statement that a man must earn more than his partner; by 2025, only 33 % agreed. More than half of men no longer support this view.
Women’s agreement with the statement has also declined. However, in 2025 it remains slightly higher than among men (39 %).
“Women’s more active participation in the labour market and the gradually decreasing pressure to conform to ‘traditional’ family roles — all of this has a significant impact on public opinion. I sincerely hope that as society slowly allows men to be human beings with emotions, their behaviour will change as well: they will become more involved in family responsibilities and take better care of their health,” says B. Sabatauskaitė.
The Ombudsperson points out that women’s somewhat higher level of support for the idea that a man should earn more does not necessarily indicate endorsement of stereotypical gender roles:
“It may reflect a desire for economic security, linked to the gender pay gap and the greater risk of income loss due to childcare or other unpaid caregiving and household work. In these areas, the division of labour remains highly unequal.”
According to the survey data, in 2025 more respondents selected the answer don’t know / hard to say. “This, too, can be seen as a positive sign — it appears that society is gradually moving away from rigid convictions and increasingly views income within a couple as a matter of personal agreement rather than a single ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ model,” the Ombudsperson concludes.
The representative survey of Lithuanian residents was conducted on December13–22, 2025, by Spinter tyrimai. A total of 1,01 people aged 18 and over were interviewed.