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Support for women in leadership is high. A majority of Americans say that there should be more women leaders in politics and business; that it would improve everyone's quality of life; and that men and women are also qualified to be leaders.
Yet despite these beliefs, Americans doubt that women have these chances.
These are the findings of a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center on gender and leadership, released Thursday. He noted that despite the record number of women candidates in mid-term elections, Americans are increasingly skeptical that voters are ready to elect women.
They are even less likely than four years ago to think that voters are ready to accept elected women. Fifty-seven percent of women now say that skepticism is a major reason why women are underrepresented in high political office, up from 41 percent in 2014. Just under a third of men say so. , an unchanged part.
Overall, respondents were divided as to whether there would be an equal number of men and women at the highest levels of politics and business and whether women were more pessimistic than men.
Why this increasing skepticism, even with the success of the candidates in the primaries, and the impetus of #MeToo and women's parades? The failure of Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy eclipses all of this, said Debbie Walsh, director of the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics.
"I think women are probably still stung by what happened in 2016," she said. "Whatever your candidate, the woman with all the qualifications lost. I think that also confirms what many women have experienced, when they were the most qualified for something and they saw a less qualified man. "
"We just feel slaughtered," she said.
Women were more likely than men to say that there were too few women in power or leading companies and say that it was harder for women to get these positions. Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say so. The nationally representative survey involved 4,587 adults.
Republican men distinguished themselves: Only a quarter of them said that there were too few women in the leadership. This compares with almost half of the Republican women, about three quarters of the Democrats and more than 80% of the Democrats.
Respondents agreed that it was easier for men to obtain positions of power in business and politics. But they did not agree on what was holding women back. Is it the women themselves – they are not strong enough, experienced or sufficiently interested? Or are there larger structural problems, such as gender discrimination, sexual harassment and societal expectations for women to do more than men to prove themselves?
Overall, people were more likely to mention structural problems – especially women and democrats. The minority who said women were underrepresented in leadership because of their individual characteristics were more likely to be Republican, male or both.
For example, when asked whether gender discrimination was one of the main reasons women were less likely than men, 68% of Democrat women said yes, as did 58% of Democrat men. and 48% of Republican women. Only 14% of Republican men said that discrimination was a reason.
In contrast, almost half of the Republican men said that women were not in office because they were not interested. Only 31% of Republican women were in agreement, as were 18% of Democrat men and 17% of Democratic women.
The survey, funded by Pivotal Ventures, Melinda Gates' executive office and investment firm, found that younger women were less satisfied than older women and that women were more likely to consider gender discrimination as a problem. major obstacle.
About 80% of those surveyed said that family responsibilities were a less important reason for women than for men.
On the mid-term campaign track, many candidates have been Express themselves about their role as mothers, take their children to campaign events and broadcast advertisements showing them breastfeeding or doing an ultrasound.
According to respondents, in politics, it is preferable for women candidates to have children early in their careers. In business, they thought it was more beneficial to have them later after gaining work experience. Between one-fifth and one-third of respondents, it would be better for women with leadership ambitions to have no children.
Whatever the reasons for under-representation in management positions, respondents did not think women were less qualified. In any case, they thought that they were more.
For the most part, they stated that there was no difference between men and women on key leadership skills. When they saw a difference, they said that women had more traits of good leaders than men, such as compassion, empathy and the ability to compromise. Democrats were particularly inclined to say that women leaders do a better job than men.
According to the respondents, the most important leadership trait was to be honest and ethical. Two-thirds said that there was no difference between men and women in this regard. 31% said women were better; and 4% said men were better.
Women have other benefits, according to respondents. In politics, they were more likely to be seen as good role models and maintain a tone of civility and respect. In business, they were more likely to be considered safe and respectful workplaces.
Men, on the other hand, were seen as better able to take risks.
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