The latest Gallup poll conducted from February 2nd to 22nd reveals several key findings regarding attitudes towards women’s representation in political office in the United States.
Firstly, 57% of American adults believe that the country would be governed better if more women held political office, while only 22% think it would be governed worse under such circumstances. Additionally, 21% of respondents either believe it would make no difference or have no opinion on the matter.
Despite women’s representation in government not reaching their roughly 50% share of the U.S. adult population, it has reached record highs across most levels of government.
Currently, women represent between a quarter and a third of elected leaders at all levels of government, including 29% in the U.S. House of Representatives, 25% in the U.S. Senate, 24% of state governors, 33% of state legislators, 34% of large-city mayors, and 32% of municipal officeholders. Furthermore, Kamala Harris serves as the nation’s first female vice president, and four of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices are women.
Not surprisingly, there’s a noticeable gender gap in positive views about women’s leadership, with women consistently exceeding men in believing the country would benefit from having more women in office.
What is a bit shocking is this gap has increased over time, with women becoming slightly more positive about women’s influence, while men have become less so.
In 1999, 62% of women versus 51% of men believed the country would be better off with more women officeholders, but today, those figures are 68% and 46%, respectively.
Partisan attitudes have also shifted significantly, with Democrats becoming substantially more likely to support the idea of more women in office, while Republicans have become less convinced. This trend has been influenced by several events, including Hillary Clinton’s candidacy as the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, a large number of Democratic women elected to Congress in 2018, and Nancy Pelosi’s return as U.S. House speaker in 2019.
The survey indicates that Republicans are more inclined to believe the country would be worse off with more women in government, with 43% holding this view compared to 32% who believe it would be better off. This is a shift from previous years when more Republicans thought women would improve rather than worsen government.
Overall, while Americans generally believe that women officeholders improve the way the country is governed, there’s a stark partisan divide on this issue. Democrats largely champion more women in office, while Republicans have become more skeptical, potentially hindering electoral opportunities for Republican women. Nonetheless, for the future of women in politics, it’s crucial to continue efforts to maximize their representation at all levels of government.
