But there’s a problem. Women know less than men about political issues, economics, and current events. Good news for Democrats, bad news for Republicans. For the less one knows, the easier the manipulation.
A study at the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania confirmed women’s lack of knowledge of the issues. Researchers asked 25 questions about candidates and specific issues during the recent primary season.
Questions concerned campaign finance reform, gun control, taxes, foreign policy, defense, as well as questions about the candidates’ positions. Men knew more than women in 15 categories. Women outperformed men on only one question!
University of Pennsylvania researcher Kathleen Hall Jamieson said, “The perplexing finding that women do not perform as well as men on political knowledge still persists in the year 2000.” Jamieson found women more ignorant than men, irrespective of age, race, income, education, marital status, or party identification! Why? Women, more so than men, get their news from local television. “Local news-watching makes you dumber,” said Jamieson.