NEW POLL FINDS NEARLY EIGHTY PERCENT OF AMERICANS ARE READY FOR A WOMAN PRESIDENT
A Majority Believe Men and Women Are Equally Suited to Handle Issues of Foreign Policy, Homeland Security and the Economy
The White House Project Poll by GfK Roper Public Affairs finds widespread support for female leadership roles, including the Oval Office and the Supreme Court
Could ABC’s ‘Commander-in-Chief’ become a reality show?
WASHINGTON, September 12, 2005 – Overwhelming majorities of Americans feel comfortable with a woman President of the United States, (79%), Vice President (84%), and a Supreme Court Chief Justice (90%), according to a poll conducted by GfKRoper Public Affairs commissioned by The White House Project, a national non-partisan organization created to advance women's leadership across sectors, including the U.S. presidency. The growing support for women’s leadership at the highest level is expressed especially in the poll through a finding that a majority of Americans feel men and women are equally suited to handling today’s complex issues of foreign policy, homeland security, and the economy.
The poll coincides with the ABC Network premiere of Commander in Chief later this month on Tuesday, September 27th. This new primetime drama features Geena Davis in the role of first female President of the United States.
"These poll numbers demonstrate America’s increasing comfort with a female commander in chief. While ABC’s show is fiction, the message from this poll is real -- American voters recognize the strength and value of women’s leadership in the highest of offices," said Marie C. Wilson, president, The White House Project. “Images on television shape the perception of who can lead and Commander in Chief’s focus on a female president only helps to increase the credibility of female leaders in non-traditional arenas.”
The poll results demonstrate that support for females in executive leadership roles is far from fiction: Not only are men and women alike ready for women to lead our country, but overwhelming majorities are comfortable with women in other leadership positions in the public and private sectors according to the poll released today by The White House Project. Some of the most encouraging results from The White House Project poll demonstrate the growing belief shared by Americans that men and women are equally suited to handle the complex issues of foreign policy, homeland security, and the economy. For example, 54% of Americans believe a female leader would be no different handling issues of foreign policy, 55% of Americans believe a female leader would be no different handling issues of homeland security, and 52% of Americans believe a female leader would be no different handling issues of the economy.
"It is encouraging to see the American public place such high levels of confidence in women as leaders at a time when the public is so focused on critical issues facing the country --including the devastation and recovery from Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq, and the fourth anniversary of September 11. To still hear large majorities of Americans saying that a female President would do as good a job as or better than a man at handling even homeland security (80%)and foreign policy issues (77%) suggests that these views of women as leaders are firmly held," said Sally Daniels, Vice President Roper Public Affairs, a division of GfK.
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The White House Project poll was conducted from September 8-11, 2005, by Roper Public Affairs. Telephone interviews were conducted with a representative random sample of 1,004 American adults. The margin of sampling error for this survey is +/- 3 percentage points. For more information on the poll, contact Lindsay Clinton at The White House Project at 212-261-4400.
