In late January, Pentagon chief Leon Panetta lifted a ban for women to serve in military combat. According to the latest Veraquest study, most Americans support his decision and do not believe it is acceptable to exclude women from the front-lines of military service (75%). However – despite feeling women have an equal right to serve, nearly 1 in 2 Americans don’t view female soldiers as equally competent to male soldiers. Whether this is an argument of quantity trumping quality (there is a need for more willing and able soldiers over all) – or the distance between the genders is considering relatively minimal – is unclear.
But interestingly, Americans in general are actually less passionate and strong-minded about keeping women off the battlefield than they are about keeping girls out of the Boy Scout jamboree (74% believe they should be banned) or off the high school football team (46% believe they should be banned).
And while the vast majority of Americans believe the genders are equally capable in the operating room; the halls of Congress; the courtroom; the chem lab; and the locker room, a minority of Americans feel that men and women have different and more traditional (some might argue arcane?) credentials:
Across the board, women are much more likely to think the genders are equal and men are much more likely to think one gender is more qualified for certain professions over others. Why?
And – as a footnote to the Master’s golf tournament that was completed on Sunday (congratulations to Adam Scott, who won a thrilling playoff!), 8 in 10 Americans feel that the ban on women (which was lifted in late 2012 after a quarter of a century) is unacceptable and agrees it should be a relic of a bygone era. But, somehow 63% feel it is OK to exclude women from an all-male college, another private institution.
Do you believe private organizations should be able to do as they please or operate by some guiding principle of gender equity? What (do you think) is the distinction to most Americans between a college and a club? For female readers, would you personally (if given the chance) choose to be the woman who breaks the gender ban on membership at August National?
For both men and women, do you feel equally comfortable with a woman or a man as your doctor, your Congressperson, your child’s teacher? Do you prefer someone who is the same gender to you or different? And why?
Leave a Reply