Feminist leader Eleanor Smeal talks gender gap, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: Q&A

Carolyn Maloney, Eleanor Smeal

Eleanor Smeal, founder of the Feminist Majority, left, talks with Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 22, 2011, to discuss the re-introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment.

(Jacquelyn Martin, The Associated Press)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Northeast Ohio native Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority advocacy group in Washington, D.C., and publisher of Ms. magazine, was in Cleveland this week to headline an event for the Cuyahoga Democratic Women's Caucus.

Smeal is largely credited with being the first to identify the political gender gap - the difference between men's and women's choices of candidates and issues at the voting booth.

The difference favors Democrats in presidential elections and could be particularly favorable this year for Hillary Clinton, the first woman to earn a major party's nomination. Smeal, a past president of the National Organization for Women, sat with cleveland.com Thursday, on the eve of Women's Equality Day, to discuss Clinton's candidacy, Donald Trump and more.

The following Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity.

cleveland.com: How did you discover the gender gap?

Smeal: A lot of my graduate school work was on the women's vote and women in politics. I believed there was one. ... I went to Lou Harris - who at the time was the preeminent pollster - and asked if he would track for 1980 not only who was for Reagan and who was for Carter, but gender, too. And I asked if there was a gender gap, and he said of course there was.

cleveland.com: Compared to previous cycles, how wide will this year's gender gap be?

Smeal: It was 10 points for [President Barack] Obama in 2012. I think this time it's going to be more like 15 points. It's a guess, obviously, but it hovered around that in the primaries.

One of the issues in this election is they want to break the highest of all glass ceilings to put a woman in the White House. They understand that is a historic event that is important to them and their daughters - and their sons for that matter. It symbolizes the struggle for equality.

cleveland.com: Do you sense, in addition to the historic nature of Clinton's candidacy, Donald Trump's rhetoric is swinging women who otherwise wouldn't vote Democratic? Is Trump himself contributing to that extra five points you see padding this year's gender gap?

Smeal: Yes, there's no question. We hear this again and again, in casual conversation and now pollsters are quantifying it. They don't like [Trump's] cruder language. He's not talking like a president. He is setting a standard they don't want their children to hear.

When he made fun of a disabled man ... [when he called Marco Rubio] 'Liddle Marco' - you're not supposed to make fun of persons who aren't as tall as you. It's impolite. ... It's the constant belittling of people, and it's not it done in a polite society. Here you've got a man running for president who's doing it. He belittles a whole segment of the society - Mexicans - and says they're rapists ... and 'some of them are good people, too?' I mean, come on. It's outrageous.

Here Lana Moresky, a top Democratic activist in Cleveland, interjects to encourage Smeal to talk about why a Clinton presidency would be good for women ...

Smeal: She has always worked for women's rights, politically. She's always been for the Equal Rights Amendment. Children's issues, health care. ... When she was a senator she introduced eight bills on women's health care. She's the reason - she and Patty Murray - are the reason that over-the-counter emergency contraception is available. As secretary of state she set such precedent. She was the first secretary of state to appoint a global ambassador for women's issues.

cleveland.com: Do you believe Clinton is held to a different standard because she's a woman?

Smeal: Absolutely. No one thinks [her work promoting women's issues as secretary of state] is important. Half the human race is being elevated and that's not important? How are you going to end the high maternal mortality rates? How are you going to educate the illiterate world if you don't educate women? ... If you're talking about national security, those countries where women's status is lower - those are the countries that are the least secure.

cleveland.com: What would a Clinton win mean for women's rights?

Smeal: What I think is going to happen is she will gender-balance the Cabinet. I can remember when I was fighting for at least five cabinet positions or three cabinet positions. She has already said that in her Cabinet women will be equal. Secondly, I think paid family medical leave and paid sick days will be so much more of a reality. It's already improved under Obama.

She will increase the number of people covered by health insurance, there's no question in my mind. The health care issues and the economic issues will get a big, big boost, in my mind.

And I hope, eventually, we get the Equal Rights Amendment in her second term.

cleveland.com: What would be the legacy of a Clinton win?

Smeal: I'm so glad you asked this question. More women are running for other offices. For example, for the first time, I think, the red-to-blue list for the Democratic Party [competitive House races] is half female. That is unheard of. The Senate races, there are about eight that are really close. Six of them are women. You are going to have without question, the first woman of color from California. [Democratic rivals Kamala Harris or Loretta Sanchez.]

Hillary is running, and that inspires people - 'If she can do it, I can do it.'

But there's another thing happening. There are groups at the local level helping women run and training candidates. There's quite a few of them. They all deserve a lot of credit.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.