Poll: Economy and unemployment top issues of election for both men and women

President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney have both made concerted efforts to appeal to female voters in this election cycle, often with a heavy focus on women-centric issues such as abortion, birth control, and, more recently, gender equity in the workplace. However, women and men put nearly identical emphasis on the economy and unemployment as the nation’s most important problems, suggesting that these are the issues they will consider most when voting.

Beyond these top two issues, men put slightly more emphasis on the federal budget deficit, while women are more likely to name healthcare. Abortion was the top issue named by women voters in 12 key swing states as “the most important issue for women in this election,” according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll. By contrast, 1% of women and less than 1% of men, nationally, consider it the most important problem facing the nation.