Women and Political Leadership Ahead of the 2024 Election
Public views of obstacles faced by women in politics and the impact of having a woman president
For the most part, Americans don’t think a woman president would do better or worse than a man when it comes to key leadership traits or the handling of various policy areas.
At the same time, the public sees differences in the way men and women running for higher office are treated by the media. And many think women candidates are punished more than men for showing emotions and having young children at home, among other attributes.
With Kamala Harris serving as vice president and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley vying for the Republican presidential nomination, we asked Americans about their views on:
- The state of gender and political leadership
- The obstacles for women seeking high political office
- How a woman president might be different from a president who is a man
When asked how important it is that a woman be elected president in their lifetime, a relatively small share of U.S. adults (18%) say this is extremely or very important to them. Most (64%) say this is not too or not at all important or that the president’s gender doesn’t matter. These views vary by gender and partisanship.
Related: The Data on Women Leaders
Only one-in-four U.S. adults say it’s extremely or very likely that the United States will elect a woman president in their lifetime. About half (49%) say this is somewhat likely and 26% say it’s not too or not at all likely.
The findings in this report come from two surveys using Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel.1 Most of the questions were asked of 5,057 U.S. adults from July 17 to July 23, 2023. The questions about the importance and likelihood of a woman being elected president were asked of 11,201 U.S. adults from July 31 to August 6, 2023.
Other key findings:
Number of women in office
Today, 53% of Americans say there are too few women in high political offices in the United States. This is down from 59% in 2018.
Looking ahead, 52% say that, as more women run for office, it’s only a matter of time before there are as many women as men in these positions. Some 46% say men will continue to hold more of these positions in the future. For more detail on views of the state of gender and political leadership, refer to Chapter 1 of this report.