Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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A hundred years after the 19th Amendment was ratified, about half of Americans say granting women the right to vote has been the most important milestone in advancing the position of women in the country.
In 2018, 59% of U.S. adults said there were too few women in high political offices, including 69% of women and 48% of men who said this.
Today’s active duty military is smaller and more racially and ethnically diverse than in previous generations. More women are officers.
Overall, about half of U.S. women and 38% of men said in 2018 that they personally hoped a woman would be elected president in their lifetime.
Roughly half of Americans say it’s better for a woman who wants to reach high political office to have children before entering politics. Views are different when it comes to leadership positions in the business world.
No world region has reached gender parity in the share of legislative seats held by women. Only three nations individually have reached or surpassed parity.
Women account for 28% of the 67 judges Trump has appointed to the federal courts since taking office, well below the share appointed by Barack Obama but higher than the share appointed by any other Republican president. Seven of the 67 judges (10%) are racial or ethnic minorities.
While women are still underrepresented in top corporate jobs, there has been a small increase in the share of women executives in such positions over the past decade.
Men and women in America generally agree on many of the qualities and competencies they see as essential for political and business leaders to have. But there are notable differences in the importance they ascribe to some of those qualities.
A majority of Americans would like to see more women in top leadership positions in business and politics, but many are skeptical there will ever be gender parity in these areas. Views about the state of female leadership vary by party and gender.
