5 Things Politicians Need to Know About Millennial Women to Get Their Votes

Younger voters and women are often much-coveted demographics in political elections. This year, politicians and political analysts are taking a closer look at Millennial women. Their experiences are unique, as are their outlooks, struggles and issues that most concern them. Fortune.com covers a recent national survey illuminating five key points that anyone should keep in mind, if they want to respect and win over Millennial women.  fortune.com - Young women have been central to discussions of the Democratic Party nomination contest between Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT). Despite sweeping assumptions about young voters and this election, millennials have a relationship with feminism and these two candidates that plays out differently across ethnicities and lifestage in particular.

Specifically, a new national, proprietary, third-party validated survey of more than 1,600 women fielded by SheKnows Media found that there are nuances between those aged 25 to 29 versus those who are aged 30 to 34, and that women of color of all ages often feel excluded from the feminist movement.

1. Women in their late 20s most strongly identify as feminists: Millennial women between the ages of 25 and 29 most strongly identify as being feminist compared to their younger (18-15) and older (30-34) generational counterparts. Fifty-four percent of women in this age group responded to the question with an unequivocal “yes,” matching the passion of Boomer feminists who saw the gains of the second-wave feminist movement first-hand.

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The Word That's Hurting Female Leaders

It's often said that actions speak louder than words, but words are often a type of action: how we define and talk about ourselves and others. So we were pleased to see Fortune's MPW Insider network take on "bossy" women (also known as women demonstrating decisiveness, authority, and other leadership qualities). Women overcome the label every day, but it would be wonderful to see the double standard disappear altogether. Read more below, and click through for the full story.

fortune.com - There are many barriers to female leadership: gender inequality, lack of access to necessary education, issues with work-life balance, etc. Yet, throughout my career, I have seen women overcome these barriers. I know women who care for their large families while also leading successful businesses; women who have not had the chance to attend university but have still climbed to the top of the corporate ladder. I also know women who have had the courage to assert themselves and their ideas in male-dominated spaces. How did they do it? It was the strength of their opinions, courage, desire to achieve equality, ambitions, and so much more. So, what if at the end of the day the real barrier was… ourselves?

Recently, I’ve been teaching women that in order to become a leader, performance is critical. But there is more to it than that: in order to be a successful leader, you need to engage, provide direction, and show self-confidence. Unfortunately, research has shown that these leadership attributes are positively correlated with likability for men and negativity for women. In other words, a man will likely come across as “decisive,” while a woman will be seen as “bossy”.

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