Despite the excitement of possibly having our first woman president, young women understand that a president who shares their gender is not the same as one who champions their interests. So, when Refinery29 asked over 1,000 Millennial women about the 2016 presidential election, the top reason they gave for potentially voting for Hillary was "I want to see a woman president" — but a plurality of 39 percent said they are still unsure whom they would vote for.
“For young women, electing a woman president isn’t only about that status of being the ‘first.’ It’s about being in touch with their lives,” Adrienne Kimmell, executive director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, told Refinery29.
For some women, gender will play a large role in whose name appears on their ballot. "Hillary, like all high-profile politicians, means more in the hearts and minds of the public than the sum of her collected policy decisions," writes Bustle's Gabrielle Moss, who plans to vote for Hillary because she is invested in seeing a woman in the Oval Office. 34 percent of respondents, including nearly 70 percent of the 18-to-29 cohort, stand with Moss in supporting Hillary.
27 percent of the women surveyed by Refinery29, however, plan not to vote for Hillary, mainly because of political disagreements — 12 percent of respondents were affiliated with the GOP — though somehow, 1.28 percent say they just don't support a woman president.
For the majority willing to vote for a woman, Hillary Clinton is the most popular woman politician by a landslide, followed by Elizabeth Warren:
Refinery29 also found that, whether or not they plan to vote for Hillary, most millennial women — 74 percent — plan to vote:
With 12.9 percent of young women unsure whether they will vote and 39 percent unsure of their preferred candidate, there is plenty of opportunity for Clinton's campaign to sway undecided voters. The coming months will reveal if she succeeds.
Head on over to Refinery29 for more survey results.
Images: Giphy; Refinery29 (2)
