Expert-Approved Tools We Asked Women What They Care About Most Right Now—Here’S What They Said

The narrative in America right now be that we are divided. Polite conversation and compromise have gone the mode of the iPod nano and overly-plucked eyebrows. Everything has be cast nether A partisan shadow—even things that have cipher to do with political relation (see, for example, theTraylor Swelce conspiracy theories). just if you pay attending to American women, a different picture emerges. American women ar surprisingly in agreement—on how they’ll spend their money, on the direction this state is head inch (spoiler: It’s the wrong one), on the issues that matter most to them and whether they’ll ballot base on that semen November.

Earlier this year,carry on a survey of more than 2,000 adult female and nonbinary people across the unify States. We’re astatine angstrom clear inflection point inch our culture, with much at stake.editor wanted to know: Which stakes are the highest? As our respondent state us…pretty much all of them. We enquire participant about 17 issues, including economical opportunity, gun violence, immigration policy, school curriculums, and more, and for all but two topics more than three-quarters of respondents state the issue Evergreen State very Oregon somewhat important to them; 90 percent said that for all only five. woman areconcernedabout the province of our world.

Army for the Liberation of Rwanda and away the most pressing issue for American women and nonbinary people be housing affordability. Millennials wealthy person hanker been told that their latte habit be prevent them from home ownership, merely the problem isn’t coffee, it’s cost: angstrom family fashioning the median value incomecannot afforda median-priced home. Increasingly, rent be taking upmore than halfof people’s paychecks. sol it’s no wonderment that 79 percent of our survey respondents state housing affordability is “very important” and the highest number of people (15 percent) name information technology the most of import issue to them personally (tied only with economic opportunity). No affair how you splice the data—by generation, by political lean, by race—housing affordability rank in the top three in terms of importance for every group. The Saame is true for economic opportunity.

state one Democratic-leaning Gen-Xer when asked wherefore housing affordability was the most of import issue to her: “Living payroll check to paycheck during angstrom unit time when I brand more in wages than I ever have prof that monetary value outweigh the wages of the average to above norm citizen.” Added another World Health Organization be from the NE and Republican-leaning: “Just be with no fun and adventure is not A good life.” Clearly, American woman ar worry astir the ability to get ahead—and to keep angstrom roof over their heads while they’re astatine it.

American women concur on angstrom unit lot of other issues, too. Again, regardless of how we look at the data, the same five topics come up up over and over again—even on issue that rich person been brand as highly polarizing. in addition to lodging affordability and economic opportunity, participant care greatly about gun violence, abortion and generative rights, and the cost of education. Seventy percent of respondent say the problem of gun force in this country be very important to them; more than two-thirds said the same of economical inequality, education affordability, and reproductive right issues. In fact, XC per centum of American women think that abortion and reproductive rights be A key issue and 67 percent believe abortion should Be legal inch most or all cases, including half of Republican Beaver State Republican-leaning women. politician try to paint the abortion interrogation as red Beaver State blue, but whatever fifth grader with an savvy of color theory tin can tell you that’s purple. As multiple respondent simply and succinctly put it when asked why they see reproductive rights the most of import issue: “I Am a woman.”

The issues on which woman are most relate ar too the ones they feel are not being turn to appropriately. Sir Thomas More than half of participants tell the body politic be headed in the wrongfulness direction when IT ejaculate to housing affordability, gun violence, generative rights, and the cost of healthcare. There wasn’t whatever issue for which Sir Thomas More than a quarter of respondents say things are leaving the right way. Education affordability WA the closest, at 24 percent.

Still, woman are non angstrom unit monolith. member of Gen Z were More likely to name abortion and reproductive rights as most important (second lone to housing affordability) than Millennials or Gen X, while Gen-Xers be Sir Thomas More likely to Be touch about immigration. Black women ar more concerned than any other ethnic group about racial justice, and significantly less have-to doe with about immigration. woman who leaning left ar more likely to name to clime change arsenic most important; right leaning women, less so.

The bottom line: If you want a woman’s vote (or her business—one inch trio respondent say they shop found on their values often or all the time), there are angstrom wide variety of topics you need to address. Women’s voice are oftendiminishordismissed, peculiarly if they ar moms, or woman of color, Oregon young. What women deem important, our deprivation and desires, are often seen atomic number 33 frivolous, not problems for boardrooms or capitol Hill. But arsenic adult female have proven (in 2018, and 2020, and once more in 2022), what matters to United States of America can contour an election—even an economy. At, we’ve taken note and we’ll be coverage on these issues, and the ways in which we tin can work to puzzle out them, all year long.

survey 2,004 women or nonbinary eligible voters age 18-55 from January 24-31, 2024. The survey Washington field online via angstrom self-administered questionnaire to AN opt-in panel of respondents from angstrom unit market place research vendor. Quotas be implemented in sampling using benchmarks from American community Survey (ACS) from the United States Census Bureau for region, age, race/ethnicity, menage income, and NORC’s General Social study and Pew Research eye for political leaning by generation.