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Sept.

23, 2016

Fusion 2016 Issues Poll:


Discrimination and Politics
Young adults broadly trust Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump to handle discrimination against
women and minorities, and she leads more narrowly among those who see discrimination against
men as a problem. But among those who see discrimination against whites, Clintons advantage
disappears.
Perceptions of discrimination against these groups vary widely in the latest Fusion 2016 Issues
poll. Eighty-eight percent of 18- to 35-year-olds see discrimination against blacks, Hispanics and
other minorities as a problem, and 66 percent call it a serious problem. Eighty percent see
discrimination against women as a problem, although fewer, 46 percent, see it as a serious one.
Many fewer see discrimination against whites or men as problems, but its still 48 percent and 43
percent, respectively. About two in ten see these as serious problems.
Problem (NET)
Discrimination against
Blacks, Hispanics and
other minorities
Women
Whites
Men

88%
80
48
43

Serious problem
66%
46
21
19

Young adults arent consistently more apt to see discrimination against their own groups than
against others as problematic. On one hand women are 10 points more likely than men to see
discrimination against women as a problem; on the other, women and men are equally likely to
express concern about discrimination against men.
That said, the youngest adults (18-25) and nonwhites are most sensitive to discrimination.
Notably, for instance, 53 percent of nonwhites see discrimination against whites as a problem.
This slips to 45 percent among whites themselves.
Indeed nonwhites, perhaps more attuned to perceiving and sympathizing with discrimination in
general, are twice as likely as whites to see discrimination against all of the groups as a problem
(39 vs. 19 percent), as well as more apt to see them all as serious problems (16 vs. 6 percent).
Theyre also more likely to see discrimination against any particular group as serious.

Similarly, 33 percent of those age 25 and younger see discrimination against all these groups as a
problem, compared with 25 percent of those age 26-35. The biggest gap between these groups is
in views of discrimination against men, seen as a problem by 51 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds,
vs. 37 percent of 26-35s.
Theres also a partisan divide. Nearly all young Democrats see discrimination against women
and minorities as a problem, 93 and 95 percent, respectively. Among independents, who make up
a majority of young adults, 80 and 88 percent see discrimination against these groups as
problematic. Those decline to 59 and 77 percent of young Republicans.
Democrats and independents also are more likely than Republicans to see discrimination against
men as a problem. Conversely, Republicans and independents are more likely than Democrats to
say the same about discrimination among whites.
Young men and women are equally likely to see discrimination against men and whites as
problematic, but women are 12 points more likely to say discrimination against minorities is a
problem, including 22 points more likely to view it as a serious one. As noted, women also are
10 points more likely than men to see discrimination against women as a problem.

All

See discrimination against (group) as a problem


Women
Minorities
Men
Whites
All 4
80%
88%
43%
48%
28%

18-25
26-35

84
77

92
86

51
37

50
47

33
25

Men
Women

75
85

82
94

43
43

46
50

26
30

Whites
18-25
26-35

76
80
73

86
89
84

33
43
26

45
44
45

19
24
17

Nonwhites
18-25
26-35

86
89
83

91
94
89

56
60
52

53
58
49

39
44
35

Democrat
Republican
Independent

93
59
80

95
77
88

40
35
45

41
50
52

24
25
30

Young adults in general dont see discrimination as a zero-sum game. Only about a quarter see
discrimination against women and minorities, but not against whites and men, as a problem, and
almost none only see discrimination against men and whites as problematic.
Trust to Handle

Among those concerned by discrimination against women and minorities, Clinton is vastly more
trusted to handle the issue, by 55- and 42-point margins. As noted, shes also more trusted to
handle discrimination against men, 41-29 percent. But she and Trump are essentially tied in trust
to handle discrimination against whites among young adults who see this as a problem, 31-35
percent. Anywhere from 21 to 27 percent dont trust either candidate to address these concerns.
Trust to handle discrimination
Clinton
Trump
Neither
Both equally
Against
Women
Minorities
Men
Whites

65%
56
41
31

10%
14
29
35

21%
25
24
27

<1%
1
1
2

Trust, too, differs by groups, particularly on partisan and ideological grounds. Among those who
see discrimination against women as a problem, Clinton leads across the board in trust to handle
it, netting majorities across groups except conservatives (49 percent).
The same goes for handling discrimination against minorities, with Clinton preferred by
majorities in most groups, albeit just fewer than half of whites and fewer than four in 10
Republicans or conservatives.
Among those who see discrimination against men as a problem, more than half of liberals and
nonwhites prefer Clinton to handle it but that slides to just a quarter of conservatives and
whites. Among white men who see discrimination against their race or gender as a problem,
more than half prefer Trump to handle it in either case. Preference for Trump to handle
discrimination against minorities also peaks among white men but still reaches just 26 percent.
METHODOLOGY This Fusion 2016 Issues Poll was conducted by landline and cell phone
interviews Sept. 7-20, 2016, among a random national sample of 1,009 adults age 18 to 35.
Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points for the full sample, including the surveys
design effect. This survey was produced for Fusion by Langer Research Associates of New York,
N.Y., with sampling, data collection and tabulation by SSRS/Social Science Research Solutions
of Media, Pa. See methodological details here.
Full results follow.
* in data columns = less than 0.5 percent
1. For each item I name, please tell me whether you think its a serious problem in
this country, a problem but not serious, or not a problem.
Do you think discrimination against [ITEM] is a serious problem, a problem but not
serious, or not a problem?
09/20/16 Summary Table

a. Women

--------- Problem --------NET


Serious
Not serious
80
46
34

Not problem
19

No op.
1

b. Blacks, Hispanics and


other minorities
c. Men
d. Whites

88

66

22

11

43
48

19
21

24
27

57
50

1
1

2. [IF SAID DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ITEM WAS A PROBLEM, Q1] Who do you trust more to
handle discrimination against [ITEM] (Hillary Clinton) or (Donald Trump)? Do you
feel that way strongly or somewhat?
What about discrimination against [ITEM]?
09/20/16 Summary Table

a. Women
b. Blacks,
Hispanics
and other
minorities
c. Men
d. Whites

- Trust Clinton NET Strgly Smwt


65
40
26

-- Trust Trump -NET Smwt Strgly


10
4
5

56
41
31

14
29
35

33
20
16

23
21
15

7
19
18

7
10
17

Neither Both
(vol.) (vol.)
21
*

25
24
27

No op.
4

1
1
2

4
4
5

1/2 NET:

a. Women
b. Blacks,
Hispanics
and other
minorities
c. Men
d. Whites

--------------- Problem -------------Trust


Trust
Neither
Both
No
NET Clinton Trump
(vol.) (vol.) op.
80
52
8
17
*
3

88
43
48

49
18
15

12
13
17

22
10
13

1
*
1

3
2
3

Not a
problem
19

No
op.
1

11
57
51

1
1
1

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