A century after women gained the right to vote, majority of Americans see work to do on gender equality

About half of Americans say granting women the right to vote has been the most important milestone in advancing the position of women in the country. Still, a majority of U.S. adults say the country hasn’t gone far enough when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, even as a large share thinks there has been progress in the last decade.

• Democratic women are the most likely to have engaged in activism focused on gender or gender equality 
• Most U.S. women say the term ‘feminist’ describes them at least somewhat well  

Many Black and Asian Americans say they have experienced discrimination amid the COVID-19 outbreak

About four-in-ten Black and Asian adults say people have acted as if they were uncomfortable around them because of their race or ethnicity since the beginning of the outbreak, and similar shares say they worry that other people might be suspicious of them if they wear a mask when out in public.

• The public is divided in its perceptions of why Black Americans face higher COVID-19 hospitalization rates  

Amid protests, majorities across racial and ethnic groups express support for the Black Lives Matter movement

Two-thirds of U.S. adults say they support the movement, with 38% saying they strongly support it. This sentiment is particularly strong among Black Americans, although majorities of white (60%), Hispanic (77%) and Asian (75%) Americans express at least some support.

• Younger adults and Democrats are more likely to have attended a protest focused on racial equality in the last month 

As Millennials near 40, they’re approaching family life differently than previous generations

Millennials are taking a different path in forming – or not forming – families. Millennials trail previous generations at the same age across three typical measures of family life: living in a family unit, marriage rates and birth rates.

More on the COVID-19 outbreak

Pew Research Center continues to study the wide-ranging impacts of the coronavirus outbreak. Here is some of our latest research.

• Most Americans say they regularly wore a mask in stores in the past month; fewer see others doing it
• About a fifth of U.S. adults moved due to COVID-19 or know someone who did
• Unemployment rate is higher than officially recorded, more so for women and certain other groups
• Hispanic women, immigrants, young adults, those with less education hit hardest by COVID-19 job losses

Media mentions

From our research