Editorial: Mind the backlash: gender discrimination and sexism in contemporary societies

Decades of policy efforts have brought significant progress in women's economic and political status and advanced gender equality on the global policy agenda. The goal of gender equality, however, still remains largely out of reach, as illustrated by the recent wave of women's protests against sexual harassment and gender violence (e.g., #MeToo movement). Some European countries (e.g., Poland, Hungary, and Lithuania) have even seen their performance on gender equality backslide in recent years. In parallel with calls for increased gender equality and rights, a wave of mobilization against what has been called “gender ideology” has appeared in the public discourse. This backlash against women's empowerment carries considerable implications for anti-discrimination laws, policies protecting women against domestic violence, reproductive health, and the establishment of gender quotas, even fuelling an increase in hostility toward prominent female political figures (see for instance Brescoll et al., 2018; Krizsan and Roggeband, 2018).