GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- The idea of drafting young women into the armed forces remains as controversial today as when Gallup first asked about it in 1979. Half the nation's adults believe women should not be drafted along with men, if a draft were to become necessary, while a slightly smaller number say they should be drafted. Americans had roughly the same attitude toward the issue 23 years ago.
| Should Women Be Drafted? If a draft were to become necessary, should young women be required to participate as well as young men, or not? |
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| Dec. 14-16, ‘01 |
But this perspective on the draft does not mean that Americans frown on the surge in female enlistment in the armed forces that has taken place over the same period -- rising from 1% in 1970 to 15% today. To the contrary, most Americans seem comfortable with women's participation in America's all-volunteer armed forces, evidenced by the large majorities who recently told Gallup that women should be allowed to serve in various combat positions.
According to the Dec. 14-16 CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey, Americans widely favor military opportunities for women that are equal to those for men in the areas of flying combat aircraft, serving on submarines, and serving in Special Forces operations. The public is least supportive of allowing women to serve in direct ground combat; still, a majority, 52%, favors this.
| Support for Women Serving in Military Roles |
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| Dec. 14-16, ‘01 |
In some of these cases, Americans support military opportunities for women that exceed what current policies allow. While women now serve as fighter pilots in the Air Force (policy changes during the Clinton administration opened up most aviation specialties to women), they are still prohibited by the Navy from serving on submarines and by the Army and Marine Corps from serving in Special Forces units or in direct ground combat.
Men and Women Share Similar Views
There is virtually no difference in the answers of men and women to questions about women being drafted or serving in combat -- with one exception. Women are much more likely than men to say that women should be allowed to participate in the prestigious units known as "Special Forces" that conduct military operations behind enemy lines. Seven in 10 women, compared to only half of men, believe women should be eligible for these units.
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Percentage Favoring Access for Women in Each Aspect of Military Service By Gender
|
||
|
Men |
Women |
|
|
% |
% |
|
|
Required to participate in a draft |
47 |
46 |
|
Flying combat aircraft |
78 |
75 |
|
Serving on submarines |
73 |
73 |
|
Serving as ground combat troops |
50 |
53 |
|
Serving as Special Forces |
53 |
71 |
Older Americans Show More Resistance to Idea of Women in Combat
The poll reveals that older Americans are as supportive as younger adults of seeing women participate in a draft. In fact, as the data below show, they are slightly more supportive of this, as 51% of those 50 and older believe women should be required to participate in a draft should it become necessary, compared to 43% of 18- to 49-year-olds.
At the same time, older Americans are much less likely than are those in the younger age group to favor combat roles for women, particularly submarine duty, where there is a 31-point gap in attitudes (84% vs. 53%).
|
Percentage Favoring Access for Women in Each Aspect of Military Service By Age
|
||
|
18-49 |
50+ |
|
|
% |
% |
|
|
Required to participate in a draft |
43 |
51 |
|
Flying combat aircraft |
80 |
69 |
|
Serving on submarines |
84 |
53 |
|
Serving as ground combat troops |
59 |
40 |
|
Serving as Special Forces |
70 |
49 |
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,019 adults, 18 years and older, conducted Dec. 14-16, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
Next, I will read you a list of jobs in the military that are considered combat jobs. Do you favor or oppose having women do each of the following? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
BASED ON -- 485 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±5 PCT. PTS.
|
2001 Dec 14-16 |
|
|
|
% |
% |
|
|
Flying combat aircraft |
77 |
21 |
|
Serving on submarines |
73 |
24 |
|
Serving as Special Forces that conduct operations behind enemy lines |
63 |
35 |
|
Serving as ground combat troops |
52 |
46 |
If a draft were to become necessary, should young women be required to participate as well as young men, or not?
BASED ON -- 534 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±5 PCT. PTS.
|
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 Dec 14-16 |
46 |
50 |
4 |
|
1998 Jun 5-7 |
54 |
44 |
2 |
|
1991 Jul 25-26 |
50 |
47 |
3 |
|
1980 Jul 11-14 |
49 |
47 |
4 |
|
1980 Feb 1-4 |
51 |
45 |
4 |
|
1980 Jan 31-Feb 1 |
50 |
47 |
3 |
|
1979 Mar 2-5 |
43 |
50 |
7 |
