Feminist issues have been at the forefront of the news cycle recently, from the U.S. getting its first female presidential nominee of a major party to several Olympic commentators getting raked over the coals for sexist remarks.
But more than half of men in the U.S. don’t believe sexism exists, according to a Pew Research Study published Wednesday.
“Just over half of Americans (53 percent) say there are ‘still significant obstacles that make it harder for women to get ahead than men,’” according to the study. “While somewhat fewer (45 percent) say ‘the obstacles that once made it harder for women than men to get ahead are now largely gone.’”
About 56 percent of men believe sexism doesn’t exist, while 34 percent of women said the same.
However, those percentages change drastically when Pew broke down genders by political party. In fact, more Democratic men believe sexism still exists (60 percent) than do Republican women (48 percent). However, within the same political parties and age groups more women believe sexism exists than do men across the board.
About 75 percent of Republican men believe significant obstacles for women no longer exist, and only 23 percent of Democratic women believe the same.
The survey was conducted between June 7 and July 5 among 4,602 adults.
Older men and women are also more likely to say women face more obstacles because of their gender than younger generations.
The biggest divide within the same group is among young Democrats. About 47 percent of Democratic men ages 18 to 34 believe sexism exists, while 72 percent of Democratic women in the same age group believe the same. That’s a 25 percent difference.
Who believes sexism exists means a lot when considering who is likely to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton or Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to Pew.
“Views on gender issues in society today are reflected in general election support in the presidential race. Seven-in-ten registered voters who say significant obstacles still make it harder for women to get ahead than men support or lean toward Hillary Clinton in the general election, while 27 percent express support for Donald Trump,” the study says. “Among voters who say such obstacles no longer exist, 67 percent support Trump while 29 percent back Clinton.”