Gender & Politics

A lot of attention has been paid to the women’s vote in the first two Democratic nominating contests. In the Iowa caucuses, Barack Obama won a narrow victory over Hillary Clinton among female voters. But in New Hampshire women rallied to the former first lady giving her a huge 46 percent to 34 percent margin, […]

Does Hilary Clinton have a problem with male voters or does Barack Obama simply appeal more to men?

World Publics Hold Mixed Opinions About Women Political Leaders

When evaluating Sen. Hillary Clinton's 2008 prospects, one question remains inescapable: Are American voters ready to pick a female president? A review of exit polls in statewide elections suggests that, at least for Democratic candidates, being a woman is not an obstacle.

Summary of Findings From managing busy schedules to dealing with outside influences, mothers have their hands full these days. There is broad agreement among the public that it is harder to be a parent today – especially a mother – than it was in the 1970s or 1980s. Fully 70% of the public says it […]

A new survey finds that Americans generally agree with the punishment radio host Don Imus received for the racist and sexist remarks he made about the Rutgers University's women basketball team. Nonetheless, there are substantial racial differences in views of Imus's punishment, and the media's coverage of the story.

By Nicole Speulda and Mary McIntosh

Public divisions over access to abortion are long-standing, and have changed only slightly over the past two decades. Currently, 58% say they oppose making it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion, while 36% are in favor of further restrictions. This is virtually unchanged from polling conducted in the early 1990s. In 1987, […]

Women Like Their Lives Better

In addition to regularly tracking news interest, the Pew Research Center has periodically tested the public’s knowledge of news and current events by including “information” questions on many of its surveys. These information questions are designed to provide insight into how extensively major news stories are understood and absorbed by the public. They cover a […]