Key points
- U.S. women register to vote and vote more often than men, but remain underrepresented in political office.
- Biased beliefs appear to impact the gap between voting activity and representation.
- Gender and political affiliation influence views on whether men make better political leaders than women.
- Levels of women in office correlate with regional beliefs about men being better political leaders.
Psychologists and demographic statisticians at Tulane University’s Newcomb Institute note that women in the United States are underrepresented in elected office compared with their male counterparts, even though women register to vote and vote at higher rates than men. When elected, women achieve more legislatively because they introduce and enact bills more often than male legislators. Female representatives are more likely to build legislation on key areas affecting women and families such as childcare, health care, paid family leave, and sexual harassment in the workplace, and are more likely to support health, reproductive rights, child needs, and prevention programming.
The Newcomb Institute’s 2024 study, “Biased Beliefs May Be Impeding U.S. Women’s Progress in Political Leadership,” references data showing that women’s representation in elected office is at an all-time high, both in Congress and in state legislatures. However, women remain underrepresented at every level of government. Since 2018, women have made up only 29% of the U.S. House of Representatives and 25% of the Senate. According to the World Economic Forum, the United States lags behind on political gender parity, ranking 63rd worldwide.
The study authors set out to determine what drives the gap between voter activity and representation. Working with the University of Chicago survey research firm, NORC, they asked a World Values Survey question of more than 3,000 adults across the U.S.: How much do they agree or disagree that “On the whole, men make better political leaders than women”?
The Findings
The 2024 results are slightly lower than in 2017. In 2024, only a minority of U.S. adults—12%—agreed that men make better political leaders than women. Many more—48% of U.S. adults—disagreed with the statement, and 40% were neutral
Globally, based on data from 80 nations, half of the world agrees that men are better political leaders. In high-income nations, fewer people hold this view. For instance, in the Netherlands and New Zealand, only 6% agreed that men make better political leaders, and only 9% in the United Kingdom agreed. Citizens in the U.S. who lean left politically score similarly to the Netherlands and New Zealand
Results by Gender
In the United States, men are more likely to agree that men make better political leaders (16%) whereas only 10% of women agree. Of those who disagree that men make better political leaders, 59% are women and 35% are men. Of those who neither agree nor disagree, 49% are men and 31% are women
Gender and Political Leanings
Among conservative-leaning people, 20% of women and 24% of men agree that men are better political leaders, and 36% of women versus 20% of men disagree. Also, 56% of men report neutrality versus 44% of women
Among liberals, 6% of men and 5% of women agree with the statement, while 53% of men and 83% of women disagree. Many more men were neutral—41%, compared to 12% of women
Among moderates, men were more likely than women to agree with the statement (14% of men and 7% of women) or be neutral (49% of men and 35% of women). Women were more likely than men to report disagreement (57% of women and 37% of men)
The researchers also analyzed whether state size and affluence would impact voter opinions. They compared four states: two large states with strong tax bases, California and Texas, and two smaller states with higher poverty levels, Louisiana and Mississippi. Responses to the statement that men are better political leaders correlated with the percentage of women in elected office: California had the most disagreement, while Mississippi had the fewest women in office and the most agreement that men are better political leaders.
The Way Forward
The researchers conclude that the belief that men are better political leaders than women is not normative (i.e., held by the majority) in the U.S., but gender and political divides and state-level differences may impede female representation that matches female registration and voting levels. They suggest that further study of the high level of neutral responses may help develop social and behavioral interventions
Raj, A., Patel, P., Daniel, C., Smith, A., Rao, N., Thomas, J. (2024). Biased Beliefs May Be Impeding U.S. Women’s Progress in Political Leadership. Newcomb Institute, Tulane
Center for American Women and Politics. (2024). New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University
