--- title: "Americans have grown more skeptical that a woman will be president in their lifetime" description: "Some 37% of Americans now say it’s not too or not at all likely that the United States will elect a woman as president, up from 26% in 2023." date: "2026-09-02" authors: - name: "Rachel Minkin" job_title: "Senior Researcher" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/rachel-minkin/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/09/02/americans-have-grown-more-skeptical-that-a-woman-will-be-president-in-their-lifetime/" categories: - "Gender & Leadership" - "Gender & Politics" - "Gender & Politics" --- # Americans have grown more skeptical that a woman will be president in their lifetime ![(Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images)](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/SR_26.09.02_woman-president_featured.png?w=640) Two years after Kamala Harris’ unsuccessful run for president, a rising share of Americans say it’s unlikely a woman will be elected president in their lifetime. ### Growing share of Americans say it’s not likely a woman will be president in their lifetime *% saying it is ___ that the United States will elect a woman as president in their lifetime* | | Extremely/Very likely | Somewhat likely | Not too/Not at all likely | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 7/1/2023 | 25 | 49 | 26 | | 7/1/2026 | 17 | 44 | 37 | Note: Shares of respondents who didn’t offer an answer are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. Some 37% of Americans now say it’s not too or not at all likely that the United States will elect a woman as president, [up from 26% in 2023](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/09/27/views-of-having-a-woman-president/#will-there-be-a-woman-president-in-the-near-future), according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The share who say it’s extremely or very likely has fallen from 25% in 2023 to 17% today. Another 44% say it’s somewhat likely, down from 49%. Among men and women and Democrats and Republicans alike, relatively few Americans say it’s highly likely that a woman will be president in their lifetime. At the same time, the share of Americans who say it’s *extremely or very important to them personally* that the U.S. elects a woman president is unchanged from 2023, with 18% saying this in each survey. Most (66%) say it’s either not important to them or that the gender of the president doesn’t matter. Another 16% say it’s somewhat important. **About this research** This Pew Research Center analysis looks at whether Americans think it’s likely that a woman will be elected president in their lifetime, as well as whether it’s personally important to them. #### Why did we do this? Pew Research Center does research to help the public, the media and decision-makers understand important topics. This research builds on our work on [gender and political leadership](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/09/27/women-and-political-leadership-ahead-of-the-2024-election/). #### How did we do this? We surveyed 3,554 U.S. adults from July 6 to 12, 2026. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s [American Trends Panel](https://www.pewresearch.org/the-american-trends-panel/). The survey represents the views of all U.S. adults. Here are the [survey questions used for this analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/SR_26.09.02_woman-president_questionnaire.pdf), the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/SR_26.09.02_woman-president_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/08/06/death-penalty-methodology/). #### Who most wants to see a woman president? While Democrats and Republicans have similar views on the likelihood of a woman president, they differ widely in seeing this as personally important. Three-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say it’s extremely or very important to them that a woman is elected president in their lifetime. This compares with just 5% of Republicans and GOP leaners. ### Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say it’s highly important to them that a woman is elected president in their lifetime *% saying it is ___ to them personally that the U.S. elects a woman as president in their lifetime* | | Extremely/Very important | Somewhat important | Not too/Not at all important/The president's gender doesn't matter | Grouping | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | All adults | 18 | 16 | 66 | All | | Men | 12 | 15 | 73 | Gender | | Women | 22 | 17 | 60 | Gender | | Rep/Lean Rep | 5 | 8 | 87 | Party | | Dem/Lean Dem | 30 | 24 | 46 | Party | Note: Shares of respondents who didn’t offer an answer are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. Most Republicans (87%) say electing a woman as president is not too or not at all important to them or that the president’s gender doesn’t matter. Fewer than half of Democrats (46%) say the same. Women are more likely than men (22% vs. 12%) to say it’s highly important to them that a woman is elected president. Still, majorities of men and women (73% and 60%) say it’s not important to them or the president’s gender doesn’t matter. ### Democratic women place more importance on electing a woman president *% saying it’s extremely or very important to them that the U.S. elects a woman as president in their lifetime* | | Response | Grouping | | --- | --- | --- | | All women | 22 | Among women | | Rep/Lean Rep | 6 | Among women | | Dem/Lean Dem | 37 | Among women | | All men | 12 | Among men | | Rep/Lean Rep | 3 | Among men | | Dem/Lean Dem | 22 | Among men | Note: Refer to topline for full question wording. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 6-12, 2026. Democratic women are especially likely to say it’s extremely or very important to them that a woman is elected president: 37% say this, compared with 22% of Democratic men. Only 6% of Republican women, compared with 3% of Republican men, say this is highly important to them. Among those who say it’s highly important to them that a woman is elected president, 30% say this is extremely or very likely to *happen* in their lifetime. Another 30% say it’s not too or not at all likely, while 40% say it’s somewhat likely. In turn, those who say electing a woman president is less important to them are more skeptical it will happen.