Less Than 25% of Americans Prefer a Female Boss

Gallup today released information from its annual “Work and Education” survey showing that Americans still prefer to have a male boss. The pollster’s results show that 35% of America...
Less Than 25% of Americans Prefer a Female Boss
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  • Gallup today released information from its annual “Work and Education” survey showing that Americans still prefer to have a male boss.

    The pollster’s results show that 35% of Americans in 2013 prefer to work for a man, while only 23% would prefer to have a female boss. That is the highest proportion of Americans that would prefer a female boss that Gallup has seen since it began asking the question. Though the majority of Americans expressed a gender preference for their boss, 41% stated that it wouldn’t make a difference to them.

    These results are similar to those seen by Gallup throughout the past decade. They are drastically different, however, from the results seen when Gallup began asking the question in 1953. That year, 66% of those surveyed stated they preferred a male boss, while only 5% would prefer to work for a woman. Just 25% of Americans in 1953 did not have a gender preference for their boss.

    Gallup’s survey results have also been broken down by demographics, providing an interesting look at gender preferences in the workplace.

    Females seem to be even more adamant in their preference for male bosses, with 40% saying they would prefer a male boss and 27% preferring a female boss. Men have a lower preference for female bosses, with just 18% saying they prefer a female boss to 29% who would prefer a male boss. A majority of men, though, (51%) say they don’t have a preference, while 32% of women say it wouldn’t matter to them.

    Politics was another area where the issue had an interesting breakdown. Democrats are fairly even in their boss gender preferences, with 32% preferring a male boss to 33% preferring a female boss. Though a similar percentage (33%) of independents prefer a male boss, only 20% said they would prefer a female boss, with most of them (46%) saying they don’t have a preference. The Republican preference for male bosses was 40%, while the Republican preference for female bosses was just 16%.

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