Most Scots do not see themselves as 'feminists', but more people here say gender inequality is a problem than elsewhere in the world, according to new research.

The Ipsos MORI survey found that 58 per cent of Scottish adults say there are "more advantages" to being a man. This is considerably higher than the UK average (49 per cent) and the global average (52 per cent).

Meanwhile 76 per cent of Scots told researchers ending sex-based discrimination was something which mattered to them personally, compared with 62 per cent of people in the UK as a whole.

However just 36 per cent of working age adults in Scotland agreed with the statement "I define myself as a feminist".

Emily Gray, Managing Director of Ipsos MORI Scotland, said: “These findings show that most people in Scotland share progressive views on gender equality, even if there’s still some reticence about embracing the label of ‘feminist’."

She also claimed the findings showed men have an important role to play in encouraging and demanding gender equality.

More than two thirds of men and nearly 80 per cent of women said it would be helpful if more men were willing to speak up when they saw women being treated unfairly because of their gender.

While 75 per cent of people in 27 countries disagreed with the claim "a man who stays home to look after his children is less of a man", in Scoland 89 per cent disagreed.

neverthless a third of men (and 17% of women) agreed that men are "expected to do too much to support women’s equality in Scotland".

Gray said the findings highlighted that men in general and fathers in particular have a vital part to play in bringing about gender equality. "While most of us don’t hold stereotyped attitudes to men and childcare, there are clearly still major barriers to be overcome to make gender equality a reality, both inside and outside the home.," she said.

She added that equal pay and preventing domestic abuse are seen as the top priorities in terms of efforts to improve gender equality in Scotland. But most Scots are not convinced it will come about in the next 20 years. Only 40 per cent of adults are confident that expectations about women's role in the home and looking after children will end within the next two decades.

The survey exposed differences in the priorities men and women gave to a range of issues to do with sex discrimination.

While both men and women rated equal pay as a key issue - with just under a third of both women and more than a quarter of men mentioning the issue, 31 per cent of women said balancing work and caring responsibilities was a top concern, compared with only 17 per cent of men who recognised this was a major problem for women.

While 29 per cent of men thought domestic violence was the major issue for women, only 21 per cent of women themselves said so.

More men than women thought sexual harassment was a leading problem, while three times as many women as main said unpaid work such as cooking, cleaning and childcare was a major contributor to inequality.

The findings are based on 873 online interviews with 16-64 year-olds in Scotland.