Understanding and Bridging the Gender Gap
Ann Stouffer Bisconti, PhD
Bisconti Research, Inc.
October 2024
In 2002, Patricia Bryant and I prepared a talk for the European Nuclear Society entitled “Communicating with Venus and Mars.”[1] The purpose was to understand the gender gap seen in our surveys and to consider how to bridge the gap. Main points were:
Women are predominantly fence-sitters, leaning favorable to nuclear energy.
They feel uninformed on the topic, are open-minded, and are impressed by facts.
Men feel better informed than women and are more skeptical of facts that differ from their preconceived notions.
Both are changeable, women more so.
The same messages are effective with both women and men.
Twenty-two years later, the European Nuclear Society invited me to address the gender gap for their conference PIME 2024. Has anything changed?
Trend Shows Historical Gender Gap
National Nuclear Public Opinion Surveys by Bisconti Research show the percentage of women and men who favored nuclear energy from 1983 to 2024. The trend lines show women and men following a similar path but with women consistently less favorable. Both paths have trended upward since 1983—for men from 63% favor to 85% favor (+22), for women from 43% favor to 70% favor (+27).
Gender Gap 1983-2024
Overall, do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in the United States?
Women’s Opinions Are Mushy
The data also show that most Americans are fence-sitters on nuclear energy—that is, they are neither strongly in favor nor strongly opposed. As of 2024, men strongly in favor of nuclear energy outnumbered those strongly opposed by 46% to 4%—with 51% in the middle.[2] Women strongly in favor of nuclear energy outnumbered those strongly opposed by just 20% to 8%—with a large 72% in the middle.
More Women are Fence-Sitters (2024)
Overall, do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in the United States? (%)
Thus, it cannot be said that women as a demographic group are strongly for or against nuclear energy, but it is also true that most women have mushy views on the topic. Among women, there is no difference between college graduates and others.
Men College Graduates Most Favorable (2024)
Overall, do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in the United States? (%)
No Specific Features of Nuclear Energy Stand Out
Open-ended questions allow respondents to explain in their own words why they favor or oppose nuclear energy. Such questions find that no specific features of nuclear energy stand out. Both men and women focus on the need for energy on the one hand and the danger of nuclear on the other. The word cloud of women’s responses in 2023 shows a scattering of comments about benefits such as clean, reliable, and efficient, but no specific benefits stand out. Those who are strongly or somewhat opposed mentioned primarily their general sense of danger. Again, nothing specific stands out.
Reasons to Favor and Oppose Nuclear Energy (2023)
What are some reasons for your opinion about the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in the United States?
These feelings have been present since the start, and the tendency to move more toward favoring nuclear energy has been shown to be driven by a periodic focus on energy as a national concern that reduces the focus on danger. That is true for both women and men.
Few Women Feel Well Informed about Nuclear Energy
As noted in 2002, few women feel well informed about nuclear energy. Only 6% of women compared with 23% of men feel very well informed about the subject, and only 43% of women compared with 76% of men feel even somewhat well informed. Focus groups show that women perceive that nuclear energy is important and would like to be better informed. That leads to open-mindedness and receptivity to information.
Few Women Feel Well Informed about Nuclear Energy
How well informed do you feel about nuclear energy used to produce electricity? (%)
Feel More Informed, More Favorable
As we have seen for many years, including 2002, the more informed people feel, the more they favor nuclear energy. The correlation is strong for both women and men. The few who feel very well informed are the only ones with large majorities who strongly favor nuclear energy.
Feel More Informed, More Favorable (2023)
How well informed do you feel about nuclear energy used to produce electricity?
Overall, do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in the United States? (%)
Actual Knowledge of Nuclear Energy is Low
In 2024, we tested actual public knowledge of nuclear energy with a 10-question quiz. See post on Knowledge vs. Facts.[3] Topics included:
Present contribution, including the number of U.S. nuclear power plants and the number of U.S states and world countries with nuclear power plants.
Clean air—nuclear compared with other sources.
Reliability and efficiency—again, nuclear compared with other sources.
Waste.
Radiation.
Regulatory oversight.
Most men and almost all women failed the quiz. Only 3% of women and 12% of men answered six or more of the 10 questions approximately correctly (a range of answers was accepted as correct).
Most Failed the Knowledge Quiz (2024)
Number of Knowledge Questions Answered Correctly in 10-Question Quiz (%)
What is stunning is that their answers were not even close. Take clean air as an example. World leaders increasingly tout nuclear energy as a clean air energy that is critical for achieving emissions goals. Domestically, outspoken advocates include the Biden Administration’s Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, former Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and Current Special Envoy for Climate John Podesta. Yet the general public is not getting the message.
One quiz question asked about each of nine energy sources: “How much air pollution does each of the following sources of electricity emit?” Respondents were given a rating scale of 0 (low amount) to 10 (high amount). Only 12% of women and 25% of men correctly rated the amount of air pollution from nuclear energy very low (0 to 1); 40% of women and 33% of men rated the amount of air pollution very high (7 to 10). On this key measure, nuclear energy fared better only than gas, coal, and oil.
Most Don’t Know about Nuclear Energy’s Clean Air Benefits (2024)
To the best of your knowledge, on a scale of 0 to 10, how much air pollution does each of the following sources of electricity emit…nuclear energy? %
Correct answer for nuclear energy: 0-1
More Knowledge, More Favorable
This survey in 2024 also showed that the correlation between favorability and actual knowledge is as great as the correlation between favorability and feeling informed. The more knowledge people have about nuclear energy, the more they favor this energy source. That was shown to be true of both women and men in 2024. Many more of those who scored well on the quiz were strongly favorable to nuclear energy. Almost none of those who scored poorly on the quiz were either strongly favorable or strongly opposed.
More Actual Knowledge, More Favorable
Overall, do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in the United States?
Women are Receptive to Information about Nuclear Energy
So often in focus groups I have heard this refrain: “I don’t know much about nuclear energy. I’m glad to have this information.” Or this refrain: “This is important. Why does no one tell us this?” These comments often come from women. After the first few focus groups on nuclear energy, I came to expect positive opinions about the test materials—although some materials tested much better than others.
We found the same receptivity to information in the 2024 survey. After the quiz, respondents were shown 12 message facts and were asked to rate each one first on how much it was a surprise and second on how much it is important. Respondents rated all 12 messages highly surprising and also highly important. For example, both women and men rated a clean air message both surprising and important.
Clean Air and Reliability Message Rated Surprising and Important
Nuclear energy is America's largest source of clean energy--46% in 2023; wind is second with 25% in 2023. Nuclear energy also is a reliable and efficient source that produces electricity 24/7. (%)
How Surprising (High Surprise, 7-10 out of 10)
How Important (High Importance, 7-10 out of 10)
For an analysis of how all of the 12 facts messages were rated on the measures of Surprise and Importance, see Knowledge vs. Facts at www.bisconti.com/blog .
The 12 message facts increased strongly favorable opinions of both women and men. The change was greater among women than men.
Favorability to Nuclear Energy Before and After Information (%)
In another Bisconti Research survey, a message about nuclear energy’s clean air and reliability benefits made about two-thirds of both women and men feel more favorable to nuclear energy.
Impact of Message about Nuclear Energy’s Clean Air and Reliability Benefits on Opinion of Nuclear Energy (2022) (%)
Fewer Women than Men Heard Anything about Nuclear Energy in the Past Year
One of the main reasons for the gender gap is that fewer women than men are hearing anything at all about nuclear energy. In the 2024 survey, only 41% of women, compared with 59% of men, remembered hearing anything about nuclear energy during the past year or so. The group most likely to have heard something about nuclear energy is men college graduates.
Fewer Women Heard about Nuclear Energy in Past Year
Have you heard anything in the past year or so about this topic…that nuclear energy is needed?
Responded “Yes” (%)
As was observed earlier regarding their attitudes toward nuclear energy, women who had graduated from college were no more likely to have heard anything about nuclear energy than those who had not graduated from college. Instead, men college graduates, who were most favorable and most well informed, also stood out as being the group with the largest number who reported hearing something about this energy source over the past year.
Familiarity Makes a Big Difference
One group of women shows broad and strong support for nuclear energy: women who are plant neighbors; 90 % of them have a favorable impression of the nearby plant and how it has operated recently. [4] They are familiar with the plant, as it is part of the local community, and they know neighbors who work there. Nuclear power plant operators emphasize community outreach, and it pays off.
Three-fourths of women who are plant neighbors would find a new reactor acceptable at the nearby plant site, and 83% would find an SMR acceptable, when described as “a new advanced alternative.” These figures are averages across plant sites and may be lower in some places and higher in others. In any case, they show the very favorable opinions that result from familiarity.
Nearly All Plant Neighbors Are Favorable
Thinking of the nuclear power plant closest to where you live, would you describe your general impression of this plant and the way it has operated recently as very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable? (%)
New Reactor Acceptable (2022)
1) If a new power plant were needed to supply electricity, would it be acceptable to you or not acceptable to you to add a new nuclear reactor at the site of the nearest nuclear power plant? (%)
2) Innovative Small Modular Reactors, known as SMRs, are a new advanced alternative for supplying electricity. Would it be acceptable to you or not acceptable to you to add a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at the site of the nearest nuclear power plant? (%)
Recommendations for Bridging the Gender Gap
The dynamics of the gender gap that Patricia Bryant and I reported in 2022 have not changed, except that attitudes of both women and men have become more favorable. There is nothing to suggest that knowledge of the benefits of nuclear energy has increased—just a heightened sense that we need energy.
Many women in the U.S. are not hearing any information about nuclear energy. There is certainly not enough information reaching women to help them back their tentative views of nuclear energy with specific reasons for these views.
Not every community hosts a nuclear power plant, so it is difficult to build across the entire nation the high level of awareness and support that familiarity brings. The clear challenge is to find pathways for reaching women with information. One can assume that an audience of typical women will be uninformed about nuclear energy but will be very interested in and receptive to the facts they learn.
It would be helpful if, in discussions of energy, influencers were to mention nuclear energy. These days, as in the past, the discourse is primarily about fossil fuels and renewables. The absence of nuclear energy leaves out of the discourse the largest and most reliable clean energy. Moreover, the technological innovation in nuclear energy is interesting.
A good starting point for efforts to communicate with women would be to focus on how nuclear energy relates to the features of electricity that they value most. Women, like men, place highest importance on affordability, reliability, and clean air.
Link Communications to What Women Want
How important to you are the following considerations for the way electricity is produced? (%)
[1] Ann Bisconti and Patricia Bryant, talk given by Patricia Bryant at PIME 2002, Prague
[2] Numbers may not add exactly to 100% due to rounding.
[3] At www.bisconti.com/blog see Knowledge vs. Facts, a complete report on the knowledge quiz and subsequent reactions to related facts.
[4] At www.bisconti.com/blog see Reverse NIMBY: Nuclear Power Plant Neighbors Say “Yes.” That post reports on the nine national surveys of persons living within the 10-mile radius of the U.S nuclear power plants. Households with persons who work at the plant are excluded due to possible bias.
© Ann Stouffer Bisconti, 2024.