Research and Polls

Who's Talking Research

2005, 2002, 2001

Over the last five years, The White House Project has researched the absence of women on Sunday morning talk shows on the five major networks: ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and NBC. The first “Who’s Talking” report was released in 2001 and found that men outnumbered women 9 to 1 on these agenda-setting shows. In our 2002 follow-up, we found that there was little improvement—women only made up 13% of all guest appearances on the shows. In the 2005 study, called Who's Talking Now, we found more than half of Sunday morning news shows did NOT include a single women. Read more about our findings in our reports below.

Why Women Matter Summit

2003

On March 3, 2003, The White House Project launched its latest initiative Why Women Matter: Lessons About Women's Political Leadership from Home and Abroad. The Summit brought together leading national and international experts who participated in panel and roundtable discussions that explored strategies for increasing women's political participation in the United States.

National Women's Leadership Summit

2002, 2003

Barriers and Opportunities Research: Profiles and Persuasion

2002

The White House Project launched a first-of-its-kind research initiative by a bi-partisan team of campaign and political experts to assess how voters respond to images and messages of women running for executive office.

Conversations with Women Leaders

2002

The Women's Voices Series focuses on women in executive leadership and the challenges they face. Women in executive leadership in business, media, entertainment and politics face similar challenges. Our cross-sector approach brings together these leaders for lively dialogues. Past guest speakers included Lt. General Claudia Kennedy, Anna Quindlen, Lisa Caputo, Carol Jenkins and Celinda Lake.

Pipeline to the Future: Young Women and Political Leadership

2000

"Pipeline to the Future" reveals that there are concrete ways to attract young women to a career in political life. The findings detail the messages and tools necessary to change young women's concerns about getting involved in politics: providing mentors, connections and opportunities for hands-on experience; providing role models; increasing young women's confidence; and showing young women how politics can make a positive difference in people's lives.

Style Over Substance: Newspaper Coverage of Female Candidates: Spotlight on Elizabeth Dole

2000

Comparative study of media coverage during the 2000 presidential campaign.  Candidates studied include Elizabeth Dole, Texas Governor George W. Bush, Arizona Governor John McCain, and publisher Steve Forbes.  Newspapers studied were the following: the Des Moines Register, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post.

Framing Gender on the Campaign Trail: Women's Executive Leadership and the Press

1998

The White House Project conducted research on how daily newspaper reporters covered female and male gubernatorial candidates. The study was designed to answer the following questions:

• Do reporters portray female and male candidates differently in covering campaigns for executive office?
  
• Does the press give less coverage to female candidates than it does to their male opponents?
  
• Does the gender of the reporter matter in terms of coverage of women candidates?

The White House Project/Roper Public Affairs Polling - Is America Ready for Leading Women?

2007, 2005, 2002

The White House Project has conducted polling about America's readiness for a woman president over the last five years.  Our poll numbers indicate a desire for women's leadership at the pinnacle of government.  Click on the years above to learn more.  For information on 2002 polling, please contact us at 212-261-4400.

Nationwide National Security Poll with Lake Research Partners

2006

The survey tested new security messages on likely 2006 voters from both general and female candidates’ voices and found that being a woman candidate in most cases only marginally changes the response by both male and female voters.