in

Women, African Americans, Latinos, and Young Adults at the Election Booth: What we have learned about the attitudes of these groups since 2008

By Eleni Delimpaltadaki

Disparities and Attitudes by Demographic Group

Women:

Are more sensitive to discrimination against their own sex, African Americans, and gays and lesbians. More women than men attribute poverty to circumstances beyond an individual’s control.

With respect to the economy, women are particularly worried about health-care costs (37 percent), everyday expenses such as food and gas (25 percent), and “lack of jobs that pay a wage that allows you to support your family” (23 percent). Low-income women and single moms are especially worried about rising health-care costs (30 percent), jobs, and everyday expenses. The cost of everyday expenses is even more a concern for them (34 percent) than for the public overall (23 percent). Furthermore, several principles and goals for the economy that are more likely to be extremely important to women than to men include stability, family-friendly policies, and balance (“Community Voices on the Economy Survey,” 2010).

African Americans:

Are highly aware of the existence of discrimination against themselves and others and are the least likely to attribute poverty to “lack of effort.” African Americans are safety-net champions—their support for government programs to help the needy exceeds that of all other groups. African American women are worried about rising health-care costs, everyday expenses, and the lack of jobs that pay a decent wage, “like much of the rest of America” (“Community Voices on the Economy Survey,” 2010). More jobs with decent wages and benefits for low-income families are the number-one priority for African American women.

Latinos:

Latino attitudes tend to fall somewhere between those of the general population and those of African Americans. They are more likely than the general public, but less likely than African Americans, to perceive “a lot of discrimination” against blacks and gays and lesbians. They are also more likely to perceive discrimination against their own ethnicity. Latinos seem more likely to attribute poverty to lack of effort than either African Americans or the public at large, but they are strong supporters of the government safety net.

“Latina women seem to be particularly hard hit, with two-thirds saying that their personal situation has been affected by the country’s economic situation, and more than half reporting that they or someone they know in their household has lost a job in the past year.” One in four Latinas says her first economic concern is losing her job. They are much more likely than African American women (23 percent) to cite this as their primary worry. Lower taxes is Latinas’ top priority for the economy (“Community Voices on the Economy Survey,” 2010).

Low-Income People:

Americans whose family income is less than $30,000 perceive more discrimination against women than other groups, and they are more supportive of affirmative action programs. They are also more likely to attribute poverty to circumstances beyond an individual’s control, and they are strong supporters of the safety net.