More Women in Government

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Welcome to Front Page, where we break down Gallup's latest insights on our constantly evolving world. Here are the five insights you shouldn't miss this week:

World Happiness Report 2024 report cover

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1. More Women in Government

Line Chart: 68% of women say the country would be governed better with more women in office.

The Data: A significant majority of women (68%) and nearly half of men (46%) believe that more women in government would lead to better governance.

Widening Gender Gap: Fifty-seven percent of U.S. adults think the country would be better governed with more women in political office, substantially outnumbering those who disagree (22%). Notably, the gender gap in these views has widened, from an 11-percentage-point difference in 1999 (62% of women vs. 51% of men) to a 22-point difference today.
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2. Congressional Approval Stumbles

Line Chart: 12% of Americans approved of the way Congress is handling its job in February 2024.

The Data: After registering at 15% for three months, congressional job approval headed back down in February, to 12%.

Why It Matters: Congress' approval rating has hovered below 20% since last July, only reaching 21% throughout the latest session. This comes as Republicans narrowly control the House and Democrats the Senate, with recent events like the impeachment articles against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas highlighting the political divide.
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3. U.S. Less Favorable Toward Both Israel, Palestine in Past Year

Line Chart: 58% of Americans have a favorable view of Israel, and 18% view the Palestinian Authority favorably.

The Data: Israel's favorable rating (58%) is down 10 points from last year, and the Palestinian Authority's (18%) is down eight points.

The Bigger Picture: Americans still view Israel far more favorably than the Palestinian Authority, but its current 58% rating is its lowest in over 20 years. The Palestinian Authority's 18% is its lowest since 2015. Fewer Americans also sympathize with both the Israelis and the Palestinians, while more now volunteer they are sympathetic toward neither or say they don't know. Still, Americans maintain a strong leaning toward the Israelis (51%) over the Palestinians (27%).
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4. U.S. Increasingly Sees Middle East Conflict as Critical Threat

Line Chart: 52% of Americans say conflict in the Middle East is a critical threat to the U.S.

The Data: Fifty-two percent of Americans see the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians as a critical threat to the United States' vital interests.

The Long-Term Trend: A substantially higher percentage of Americans view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a “critical threat” to the U.S. today than felt this way when last asked two years ago (35%). Previously, the conflict was more commonly classified as “important but not critical.” The February poll marks the first time since 2004 that more than half of Americans have considered the conflict a critical threat.
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5. United Nations' Job Approval

Line Chart: 58% of Americans say the United Nations is doing a poor job in solving global problems in 2024.

The Data: A steady 58% of Americans believe the United Nations is failing to effectively solve global problems, while 33% view its efforts positively.

The Bigger Picture: Since the start of the Iraq War in 2003, more Americans have viewed the U.N.'s performance negatively than positively. Notably, dissatisfaction with the U.S.'s global standing influences views on the U.N.'s performance: 72% of those unhappy with the position of the U.S. in the world are more likely to critique the U.N., compared with 32% of those who are satisfied.
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And that's Front Page!

Mohamed Younis
Editor-in-Chief
Gallup

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