How we vote really can win or lose an election for a candidate.
In 2020, for example, Black women were lauded forpropelling Joe Bidento victory.
As a result the pressures on our decisions can feel enormous, individually and collectively.
Our voting patterns are analyzed.
Campaign ads target our votes.
America remains one of only six countries in the world with no national paid family and medical leave program.
Childcare remains unaffordable for many.
Childcare workers have few protections.
According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank, American households are nowin record debt.
It took until 2001 for that percentage to hit 12%.
Which party do they want to vote for?
What issues are influencing their decisions?
Who do they trust most on each issue?
What do they feel is most at stake for women right now?
HOW WOMEN LEAN
Its an extremely tight race.
The picture for this years election gets more interesting the deeper you dive into theGlamour-YouGov data.
This is the lowest of any age group by a wide margin.
In the next oldest group, 30-to-49-year-olds, 68% are registered.
(Read more about this in our deep dive intoGeneration Dissatisfied.)
In comparison, 91% of women aged 65 and older are registered.
And those women skew 57%-42% to the Republicansa big win for the GOP.
(Read more about this in the story ofThe Unwavering Black Women Voters.)
For Democratic women, two further key election issues are gun policy and abortion.
For Republican women, its criminal justice and foreign policy.
Some independent-leaning women additionally raised the transgender debate in sports.
Fascinatingly, 71% of all women describe themselves as open-minded.
Similar percentages of Republican- and Democratic-leaning women identify in particular as both breadwinners and caregivers.
These identity markers are important, as they paint a picture of an electorate that can be multifaceted andimportantlychangeable.
The traditional assumption is that Democratic women support abortion and stricter gun laws, and Republican women oppose both.
Personal experience is a factor, particularly when it comes toabortion.
However, it would be incorrect to assume that support for abortion splits completely down party lines.
While 69% of Republican women oppose abortion, 31% support it.
And 73% of Democrat women support abortion, but a still notable 27% oppose it.
Gun control is another issue in which the traditional left-right approach doesnt reflect womens views as a whole.
And 82% of all women support preventing people with mental illnesses purchasing firearms.
Paid leave is an issue of policy directly impacted by personal experience.
And the data is notable, for both parties.
And former president Trump hasleaned intothis in his campaigning.
Its worth remembering that a huge pillar of Barack Obamas winning 2008 campaign was his health care reform.
It could well end up a very successful strategy.
But our study shows that women care about substance, whatever their party preferenceor lack of it.
And they want to see substantive progressacross the political spectrum.
Women are largely united on issues like gun control.
The majority of all women see themselves as open-minded.
They believe in paid leave.
There are opportunities and issues for both parties to build upon or exploit, for certain.
To register to vote, go tovote.org.
