Men and women prioritize political issues similarly, study finds (11 Photos)
Hilary Shenfeld on Oct 14, 2010 at 2:36PM
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90.5 percent of women think it's a priority
86.5 percent of men think it's a priority
Women want the economy to rebound quickly and jobs to come back because "they are more economically vulnerable than men," says Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, pointing out that women earn less than men for comparable work and are less likely to have as much money in savings or for retirement. As a result of the wage gap, women more than men "can imagine themselves needing to take advantage of that social safety net the government has provided," she says, such as social security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and family and medical leave benefits. "Men may see it as government should be smaller and leaner whereas women are saying, 'Let's fix government,'" Walsh says.
