Supermajority PerryUndem Research

New Supermajority, PerryUndem Research Shows Gender Equity is Top of Mind for Voters, Women Are Motivated by Rollback of Rights

“The way women are treated in society” is a top issue for women voters 

Women across nearly every demographic segment think President Trump has made things worse, rather than better, for women 

Washington, DC — August 20, 2019 — Supermajority, a new home for women’s activism, released the results of a comprehensive study, conducted by PerryUndem, that shows the majority of women voters, including 64 percent of Independent women, see the way women are treated in society as a top issue in the 2020 elections. Half of women voters reported feeling “worried,” “sad,” “scared,” or “angry” at the state of women’s rights and gender equality in the country. 

Women across nearly every demographic segment are more likely to say President Trump has made things worse, rather than better, for women and voters connect a range of issues to gender equity, including equal pay (75 percent), paid family leave (64 percent) and violence against women (75 percent). 

And on the heels of the #MeToo movement and the activism around the Kavanaugh hearings, the study finds that voters are motivated by the unprecedented number of abortion bans that have been passed this year and see the bans as directly connected to gender equity. The most common responses to the bans were “outrage” and “anger,” and a majority of voters, including 65 percent of Independent women, said the abortion bans made them motivated to vote in 2020.  

“Gender equality is at the forefront of people’s minds, and in the national conversation, like never before,” said Cecile Richards, co-founder of Supermajority and former president of Planned Parenthood. “Attacks on women are not leaving them hopeless, but instead motivating them to take action.”

“This research further confirmed that women of color–particularly black women–are highly attuned to issues of gender inequality, but also are also more likely to believe that women are becoming the most powerful force for positive change in America,” said Katherine Grainger co-founder of Supermajority and Partner at Civitas Public Affairs Group. “We know this about women: we are motivated, we are resilient and together we are unstoppable.” 

Among other findings, the research showed that: 

• Many voters are angry and worried about the state of women’s rights and gender equality in the country. 
• Women across nearly every demographic segment think President Trump has made things worse, rather than better, for women. 
• Women voters connect a number of issues to gender equality, including violence against women, equal pay, paid family leave, and access to abortion.
• The recent abortion bans aggravated and elevated feelings about the state of women’s rights. 
• Voters who oppose access to safe and legal abortion are among the most likely – if not the most likely – segment to hold inegalitarian views.
• Democratic voters are more unified and mobilized around abortion than Republican voters are. 
• The way women are treated in society is a top voting issue for Democratic women voters and black women, but not Republican women voters. 
• Democratic women are most likely to feel that the 2020 elections are “more important than usual.” Republican women are least likely to feel the upcoming elections are atypical.
• Majorities of Democrats and women of color feel it’s true that women are becoming the most powerful force for positive political change. 

You can view our top findings on voters’ views on gender equality in more detail in the executive summary and the presentation of the data.