In case you didn’t know, today is Women’s Equality Day. Today, we celebrate the women’s suffrage movement and gender equality, while recognizing the progress yet to be made.
…. That is, if you think there still is progress to be made. As it turns out, not everyone does.
Though the majority of people we asked do not believe that men and women are treated equally in the United States, an assertion that I would agree with, there is still a large number of people who believe that they are.
We found that 70% of this group are men, predominantly over the age of 35. They have a slightly higher income than those who answered that men and women are not equal. In addition, both groups have a similar level of education.
There is, however, a definitive difference across party lines. Republicans are much more likely to answer that men and women are treated equally, while Democrats are more likely to answer that they are not. Not surprisingly, people who disapprove of the job President Obama is doing make up 82% of those who think that men and women are treated equally. Lastly, people who watch Fox News – a conservative news station – are more likely to answer that men and women are treated equally, as opposed to those who watch CNN, who primarily answer that they are not.
With the pay gap between women and men at 79 centers per one dollar, the continuing fight for affordable childcare, the terrifying rise of sexual assault – unfortunately I could go on and on – it’s not surprising that the majority of people feel that we are not yet at a point of equality between men and women.
Regardless, the data tell us that there are still many people who don’t see these gender inequalities all around us. This, in and of itself, illustrates the immense amount of work to be done.
