Despite winning the popular vote in 2016, a 2019 poll found that only 49% of American men would be “very comfortable” with a female president. The Reykjavik Index for Leadership surveyed 22,000 adults across G7 nations and found that Canada and France had the highest overall scores for acceptance of female leaders, while Russia and China were last. The survey also highlighted significant biases against women globally, including pay inequality, illiteracy, and inadequate healthcare.
Although Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 US presidential election by 77 electoral votes, she won 48.2% of the popular vote, compared to current President Donald Trump’s 46.1%. However, while those numbers seem to suggest that a woman will one day win the White House, a 2019 poll held less promise.
The Reykjavik Index for Leadership found that only 49% of American men would be “very comfortable” with a female president, compared to 59% of American women. Similar surveys were conducted across the G7 nations, questioning 22,000 adults about their views on women in leadership roles in a variety of settings, from education and banking to media and entertainment.
Overall, America ranked third in terms of both men’s and women’s acceptance of female leaders. In general, Americans are much more open to having women occupy top positions in media/entertainment, banking/finance, and natural sciences, than in defense, gaming, vehicle manufacturing, and policing. Canada and France had the highest overall scores in the survey, while Russia and China were last.
Michelle Harrison, global CEO of the public division of Kantar, the data consultancy that helped with the survey, said there’s a lot of work to be done before gender equality can be achieved. “This year’s study reveals that in every country studied, there are significant biases against women and we have a long way to go before equality becomes the social norm,” she said.
Unfair to the fairer sex:
Globally, women doing the same job as men earn an average of between 60 percent and 75 percent of pay.
Two thirds of the approximately 780 million illiterate adults in the world are women.
About 800 women die every day in childbirth or pregnancy because they do not receive adequate health care.
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