Gender & Politics

Overview The public broadly supports the military’s decision to lift restrictions on women in combat. Two-thirds (66%) support allowing women in the military to serve in ground units that engage in close combat, while just 26% are opposed. Opinion on this question is little changed from a Washington Post/ABC News survey two years ago. The […]

Take a look at Pew Research Center’s top findings of the year that told us a bigger story about the trends shaping our world.

Just over half (52%) of women identify with the Democratic Party or lean Democratic, continuing a longstanding gender gap; in comparison, 43% of men identify with the Democrats.

The gender gap in presidential politics is not new. Democratic candidates have gotten more support from women than men for more than 30 years. Even so, Barack Obama’s advantages among women voters over his GOP rivals are striking. In the Pew Research Center’s most recent national survey, conducted March 7-11, Obama led Mitt Romney by […]

Overview About six-in-ten Americans (62%) have heard about the proposed federal rule that would require employers, including most religiously affiliated institutions, to cover birth control as part of their health care benefits. Among those aware of the issue, opinion is closely divided over whether these institutions should be given an exemption to the rule if […]

This month's Winter Olympics will be a rare sporting event in at least one respect: As many women as men say they are especially looking forward to the winter games.

Obama says empathy is one of the qualities he'll be looking for in a new Supreme Court justice. Meantime, his White House has floated a list of possible nominees that's stacked heavily with women. Coincidence?

A look at the public's news interests over the past year shows continuing differences between women and men in the types of news stories that they follow very closely.