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Globalattitudesaboutwomenasnationalleaders
Background
Throughouthistory,politicshasbeenlargelyaman’sworld.The20thcenturywitnessedsignificantchanges,
throughwomen’ssuffrageandtheemergenceofwomenasleadersofpartiesandnations,albeitataslowpace
andunevenlyacrosstheglobe.Today,intheearly21stcentury,onlyahandfulofcountrieshavehadwomenas
politicalleaders.Justacoupleofmonthsago,awomancandidatefelljustshortofbecomingtheUSA’sfirstfemale
President.
Theabsenceofwomenasnationalleadersisanundisputedreality,butwhatliesbehindthis?Howmuchofitcan
beattributedtopoliticalsystemsandinstitutionalbarriers,andhowmuchisduetocultureandpublicopinion?
TheEnvironicsInstituteforSurveyResearchexaminedthelatterdimensionthroughapublicopinionsurvey
conductedin60countriesattheendof2016.ThesurveywasconductedinpartnershipwithEnvironics
CommunicationsandEnvironicsAnalytics(twoleadingmarketingandcommunicationscompaniesthatarepartof
thecommercialEnvironicsGroupsofCompanies).Thesurveyposedthefollowingquestiontoarepresentative
sampleofroughly1,000citizensineachcountry:
Doyoutotallyagree,agree,disagreeortotallydisagreewiththefollowingstatement:
“Womenarejustasqualifiedasmentoleadourcountry.”
Thesurveywasconductedonlineineachofthe60countries,usingRIWICorp.'sproprietaryRDITplatformthat
makesitpossibletoconductsurveyswithgeneralpopulationsthroughlaptopsandsmartphones,withoutreliance
onrecruitedonlinepanels(furtherdetailscanbefoundathttps://riwi.com/how-rdit-works/).Atotalof62,918
surveyswerecompleted(approximately1,000ineachcountry)betweenNovember4andDecember10,2016.The
marginofsamplingerrorforeachcountrywillbeplusorminus3.0percentagepoints,in19outof20samples.
ExecutiveSummary
Despitetherarityoffemalenationalleadersglobally(mostcountrieshaveneverallowedit),thissurveyrevealsa
surprisinglevelofpublicsupportfortheideathatwomenarejustasqualifiedasmentoleadonescountry.Aclear
majorityinalmostallofthe60countriessurveyedagreewiththisidea,andinmanyatleasthalf“totally”agree.By
comparison,inonlyahandfulofcountriesdomorethanoneinsixtotallydisagreewiththepremise.
Opinionsvarybyregionandcountry,largelyasafunctionofculture.Agreementthatwomenareasqualifiedas
menismostpronouncedincountrieswithtraditionalpatriarchalsocietiesinLatinAmerica,SouthernEuropeand
somepartsofEastAsia;evenmoresothaninmostoftheprogressivewesterncountriesofWesternEuropeand
NorthAmerica(wherefeministvaluesarestrongest).Disagreementwiththestatementstandsoutmostina
handfulofMuslimcountries,notablySaudiArabiaandAlgeria.Genderplaysonlyamodestrole(andnotinall
countries),whileageandeducationseemtomakelittledifferenceinattitudesaboutwomenleaders.
Thesefindingsdonotmeanweshouldexpecttoseeaspateofemergingwomennationalleadersacrosstheglobe
anytimesoon.Buttheydosuggestthatcitizensinmostoftheworlddonotbelievethatwomenintheircountry
lackthequalificationstoleadthem.
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TheEnvironicsInstituteforSurveyResearch,2017
FINALREPORTFeb28-2017
SurveyResults
Globalresults.Despitethefactthattheoverwhelmingproportionofnationalleadershavebeenandcontinueto
bemen,thereisasurprisinglevelofagreementaroundtheworldthatwomenarejustasqualifiedasmentolead
onescountry.Closetoeightintensaytheytotallyagree(52%)oragree(26%)withthisstatement,comparedwith
justoneinfivewhodisagree(10%)ortotallydisagree(12%).The“totallyagree”percentageprovidesthebest
indicatorofpublicsentiment,asitrepresentsadefinitiveopinionthatisnotaslikelyinfluencedbysocial
desirability–itisthismetricthatisusedfortherestoftheanalysispresentedbelow.
Regionandcountryresults.Perspectivesonthisissuevarynoticeablyacrossregionsandindividualcountries,in
apatternthatinsomecasesiscounter-intuitive.Byregion,totalagreementinwomenbeingasqualifiedasmenis
mostwidespreadinLatinAmerica(62%),SouthAsia(61%)andWesternEurope(59%),withthisviewleastaptto
besharedinNorthAmerica(45%)andWestAsia(43%).Thereisconsiderablevariationwithinsomeregions,
notablyAfrica,EastAsiaandWestAsia.
Bycountry,totalagreementwiththestatementismostpronouncedincountriesspanningseveralcontinents:
Spain(72%),Portugal(71%)andItaly(65%)(allinSouthernEurope),aswellasVenezuela(68%),Kenya(66%),and
Canada(62%).LowagreementinwomenbeingasqualifiedasmenisevidentinsomeMuslimcountries,suchas
Algeria(22%),SaudiArabia(24%)andJordan(29%),butalsointheEastAsiancountriesofSouthKorea(26%)and
Japan(27%).Majorworldpowersmostlyfallsomewhereinthemiddle,includingGermany(52%),China(49%),
Russia(45%),andtheUSA(43%).
Howopinionsvarybygender.Atagloballevel,thereisapredictableifnotdramaticgendergapinattitudeson
thisquestion,withwomen(57%)morelikelythanmen(47%)tototallyagreethatwomenarejustasqualifiedas
men.Butthisgapisbynomeansconsistentaroundtheworld.ThegendergapismostpronouncedinCentraland
EasternEurope,includingGreece(19points),Kazakhstan(21),Russia(19),Austria(19)andPoland(18),aswellas
inTaiwan(19).Incontrast,thereislittleornodifferenceintheopinionsofmenandwomenonthisquestionin
Ethiopia(0points),Japan(1),thePhilippines(4%)andVietnam(5).Notably,thegendergapissimilarincountries
withverydifferentviewsaboutwomen’s’roleinsociety,suchasSweden(8)andSaudiArabia(7)
Doesitmatterifcountrieshavehadwomenleaders?Ahandfulofthecountriesincludedinthissurvey
currentlyhave,orhavehadinthepast,womennationalleaders(asPrimeMinisterorPresident).Thisexperience
doesnotappeartohavehadanynoticeableimpactonpublicattitudesaboutthequalificationsofwomen
comparedwithmen.Inthe12countriesthathave(orhavehad)womenleaders,51percentofthepublictotally
agreeswiththestatementaboutwomenbeingasqualifiedasmen,comparedwith49percentintheremaining48
countriesthathavehadnosuchexperience.
Howopinionsvarybyageandeducationlevel.Somemightpositthatattitudesaboutwomenasnational
leaderswillbeafunctionofageandeducationlevel(i.e.thatyoungerandmoreeducatedindividualswillhold
morepositiveviewsaboutwomens’capabilities).Resultsfromthissurveydonotsupportthishypothesis:Ageand
educationmakeanoticeabledifferenceinsomecountriesbutnotinothers,andthenatureoftherelationshipis
bynomeansuniform.
Withrespecttoage,atagloballevelthereisasmalldifferenceinthelikelihoodoftotallyagreeingwiththe
statementaboutwomenbeingqualifiedasnationalleaders,withapositiveviewexpressedbyindividualsunder45
(52%)abitmoreevidentthanamongthose55andolder(45%),whilethose45to54yearsofagearethemost
positiveofall(62%).Inonlyafewcountriesisthereanoticeablegapbetweenyoungerandolderonthisquestion
–thelargestbeinginSweden(11points)andSpain(10points),andinbothcasesitistheoldercohortwhoare
moststronglyinagreementaboutwomenbeingcapableleaders.
3/…
TheEnvironicsInstituteforSurveyResearch,2017 2
Agree–Disagree:“Womenarejustasqualifiedasmentoleadourcountry.”
TheEnvironicsInstituteforSurveyResearch,2017 3
Intermsofeducationlevel,onceagainthereisonlyamodestlinkwithattitudesaboutwomenleaders.Individuals
whohavenotcompletedsecondaryschool(highschoolinNorthAmerica)areleastapttototallyagreewiththe
statement.Butthereislittledifferenceinviewpointamongthosewhohaveasecondaryschoolorpost-secondary
degree(itisthoseattheBachelor’slevelwhoaremostapttototallyagreeaboutwomenbeingcapable(57%)).
Inahandfulofcountries,supportforwomenasbeingqualifiedincreasesnotablywitheducationalattainment–
thisincludesCanada(26pointgap),Colombia(25),Greece(22)andSpain(22).Butthereversealsoappliesinafew
othercountries,whereitisthosewithlesseducationwhoaremostapttoagreethatwomenarejustasqualified
tobeleaders–thisincludesMorocco(24points)andIraq(6).Andinmanycountriesthereislittletonogap
betweenthosewithmoreandlesseducationalattainment.
Howopinionsinterplaywithpatriarchy.Finally,howdoopinionsaboutthequalificationsofwomenleaders
relatetosocialvaluessurroundingpatriarchy(beliefintheviewthat“thefathershouldbethemasterinhisown
home”)?Inthiscasethereisanotablerelationship,butnotinaconsistentwayacrosscountries.Globally,total
agreementwithwomenbeingascapableasmentobenationalleadersisactuallymoreprevalentamongthose
whoexhibitstrongpatriarchicalvalues(67%),comparedwiththosewhorejectthisperspective(53%).
Thepatternbreaksintwodirectionsdependingonthecountry.AmongwesternEuropeancountries,total
agreementaboutwomenleaders’capabilitiesisstrongestamongthosewhorejectpatriarchy,insuchcountriesas
Sweden,theNetherlands,UnitedKingdomandHungary.ButthereversepatternemergesinsomeAsiancountries:
beliefinthequalificationsofwomenleadersisstrongestamongthosewhoareamongthemostpatriarchalin
outlook–Japan,Vietnam,HongKong,India,BangladeshandthePhilippines.Theseresultssuggesttherearetwo
distinctperspectivesonwomenasnationalleaders:intheWestitisafunctionofafeministperspectiveonwomen
beingequaltomeninallrespects;butincountrieswithastrongpatriarchalculture,itmaybeadaughterorwife
who,intheeventofanemergencyortheabsenceofamaleheir,canstepinandbeagoodleader(e.g.,Indira
Gandhi,EvaPeron).
Formoreinformationaboutthisresearch:
Dr.KeithNeuman
ExecutiveDirector
[email protected]
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