A study on women's perspectives on and identification with the word "feminist". Includes assessment by demographics, and a look at how women benefit from past feminist advocacy, and where work still needs to be done.

1. # T H E F W O R D
A Study on Feminism
A S H E K N O W S M E D I A S T U D Y
i n p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h R e s e a r c h N a r r a t i v e
M a r c h 2 0 1 6

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
4 F E M I N I S M I N A N E L E C T I O N Y E A R
3 A S E L E C T I O N O F P E R S P E C T I V E S O N F E M I N I S M
1 M E T H O D O L O G Y & E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y
2 I D E N T I F Y I N G F E M I N I S T A R C H E T Y P E S
5 F E M I N I S M ’ S W A Y F O R W A R D

3. PART ONE
methodology & executive summary

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UNDERSTANDING WOMEN’S RELATIONSHIP TO
FEMINISM TODAY:
• Understand how women define and identify with
Feminism across lifestyle and demographic categories
• Reveal what sources influence a woman’s
perspectives on Feminism
• Identify if women have benefitted from Feminism, and
what work remains to be done
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

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M E T H O D O L O G Y
In December 2015 – January 2016,SheKnows Media fielded a custom study
to its researchpanel of 7,600 members and to its online audience,
generating 1,622 responses,98% of which were fromwomen. This data has
been third-party validated and analyzed by ResearchNarrative.
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RESEARCH METHODOLO G Y
F O R M A T : Online Survey
I N - F I E L D : 12.28.15 – 01.07.16
B Y R A C EB Y A G E B Y E M P L O Y M E N T
• 78% Employed Full or Part Time
• 12% Managinga Household
• 4% Retired
• 3% Student
• 2% Unemployed
• 77% White
• 9% African American
• 8% Hispanic
• 4% Asian
• 2% Native American
• 31% Millennial (1985-1998)
• 43% Generation X (1965-1984)
• 24% Baby Boomer (1946-1964)
• 2% Silent Generation (1945+)

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1 F E M I N I S M ’ S S T A T E D P U R P O S E I S C L E A R
Whether appreciated or not, people understand Feminism to mean gender equality, and older
Millennials, not GenXers, have taken up the Feminism torch fromBoomers.
2 F E M I N I S M ’ S A C C O M P L I S H M E N T S A R E N O T A S C L E A R
The vast majority of respondents have leveraged the gains of the Feminist movement…perhaps
without realizing it.
3 N O N - F E M I N I S T S F E E L E X C L U D E D
Non-moms are super Feminist, women of color and conservative moms feel alienated by
Feminism due to their identity or chosen lifestyle.
4 T E L E V I S I O N T E A R S D O W N F E M I N I S M
TV and celebrity influences create a dividing factor among Feminists and Non-Feminists. The
more TV influences you, #TheLessYouKnow.
5 W E A L L P A Y T H E # F E M A L E T A X
Feminist or not, we feel dismissed, criticized, even harassedto a startling degree.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 5 KEY FINDINGS

7. PART TWO
feminists, non-feminists, and women on the fence

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8SOURCE: #TheFWord, A SheKnows Media Study on Feminism, March 2016; Q. Do you currently identify as “feminist”? Base: Women 18+
IDENTIFICATION WITH FEMINISM IS SPLIT
one-third of women aren’t committed either way
D O Y O U I D E N T I F Y A S A F E M I N I S T ?
46%
Y E S
32%
I T D E P E N D S / N O T
S U R E
22%
N O
B R E A K D O W N B Y A G E
Yes
53%
No
15%
It
depends
25%
Not
sure
7%
2 5 - 2 9
Yes
44%
No
23%
It
depends
27%
Not
sure
6%
3 0 - 5 4
Yes
54%
No
17%
It
depends
24%
Not
sure
5%
5 5 - 6 4

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REQUEST THE FULL DECK TO REVIEW:
• 7 PERSONAE: THE FEMINISTS THE NON-FEMINISTS
AND THE ON-THE-FENCE
- Their demographic commonalities
- The psychology and life stages that feeds into
perspectives
FEMINISTS, NON-FEMINISTS AND THE ON-THE-FENC E

10. PART THREE
a selection of perspectives on feminism

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F E M . I . N I S M ( N O U N )
The belief that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities.
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EMBRACING A UNIVERSAL DEFINITION
F O R A L L
The dictionary definition
is understood by
feminists (72%) & non-
feminists (42%) alike
F O R N O N
F E M I N I S T S
F O R M E N F O R W O R K I N G
W O M E N
#1 #2
The next most popular
definition is “rejects
traditional values” (40%)
Feminists believe
equality doesn’t have to
be at men’s expense,
and in fact may benefit
them. Feminists don’t
hate or want to be men
As women enter the
workforce and focus on
careers,feminism’s
importance is more
acute
SOURCE: #TheFWord, A SheKnows Media Study on Feminism, March 2016
Q. Which of following definitions matches your definition(s) of “feminism” (if any)? N=1,329

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12SOURCE: #TheFWord, A SheKnows Media Study on Feminism, March 2016
Q. Which of the following have you done? Select all that apply. Base: Women 18+ N=1,089
ALL WOMEN BENEFIT FROM FEMINISM
regardless of affiliation, women take similar advantage of the movement’srights
W H I C H O F T H E F O L L O W I N G H A V E Y O U D O N E ?
96% 95% 92%
65%
20%
91% 90% 89%
63%
17%
Voted Gotten credit in your
name
Used birth control Started your own biz Terminated a
pregnancy
Feminists Non-Feminists

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REQUEST THE FULL DECK TO
REVIEW:
• The familiar monetary price
women pay in the workplace.
• The less familiar emotional price
we pay at work, and also in the
world at large.
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WE ALL PAY THE #FEMALETAX

14. PART FOUR
feminism in an election year

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The Millennial Vote
• It has been widely reported that Bernie
Sanders is sailing past Hillary Clinton as the
youth favorite
• Our study shows Young Millennials (25- to 29-
year old women) lean towards Sanders
• Older Millennials (30- to 34-year old women)
lean towards Clinton
Race Adds A More Significant Gap
• White millennials heavily support Sanders,
while African American millennials heavily
support Clinton1
• Important, because African American
millennial women are the most likely
millennial demographic to turn out to vote
come Election Day2
REQUEST THE FULL DECK FOR MORE…
MILLENIALS AND THE ELECTION
SOURCE: #TheFWord, A SheKnows Media Study on Feminism, March 2016
1. Source: NBC News, ”Clinton Maintains National Lead Over Sanders, 02/15/16
2. Source: The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and
Engagement

16. PART FIVE
feminism’s way forward

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1 G O B E Y O N D # W O R K I N G M O M P R O B L E M S A N D C H O I C E
Growing the movement will require convincing women that Feminism is inclusive of women
outside the workplace.#EqualPay and #Choice are two key Feminist issues, but not the only ones.
2 I N C L U D E M E N
The majority of women believe men can (and should) benefit from Feminism too. Helping families
helps all members of those families.
3 W O M E N M U S T S E E I T T O B E I T
As frequent primary breadwinners, African American women have a lot to gain from Feminism’s
fight. If white women forget about their sistrenof color when fighting, however,they leave women
of color, particularly African American women feeling excluded.
4 G O D I G I T A L
Reach women where they are online to offset television’s negative effect – especially younger
women at the critical lifestage of being early in career and considering starting or growing a
family, and African American women.
4 GO-FORWARD TACTICS FOR THE FEMINIST MOVEMEN T