Women Believe Economy Is Top Issue in 200...( Days Before Super Tuesday AARP an...),Health

Days Before Super Tuesday, AARP and iVillage Take Women's Pulse on Key Issues at 'How She Will Decide' Forum

GLENDALE, Calif., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP, which is marking its 50th Anniversary, and iVillage, the first and largest community of women online, today hosted hundreds of engaged, diverse women for the groundbreaking "How She Will Decide" forum, taking place just 4 days before Super Tuesday and providing a real-time pulse check of the issues that will most affect this year's presidential race.

Overwhelmingly, participants at the forum feel economic issues are the most important factor guiding their decision on which candidate to support on Election Day - with 54 percent of the audience members reporting that they do not have a 401(k) or similar retirement savings account. This underscores the findings of an iVillage fielded Roper poll conducted last week, which found that over half of surveyed women cite "having enough money to live on" as their biggest concern when thinking about financial security later in life.

Other issues that prove top-of-mind with women include healthcare (10 percent), the Iraq war (15 percent) and national/homeland security (12 percent).

"Women's issues will play an increasingly more important role in the elections in the United States," said Nancy LeaMond, AARP Group Executive Officer and Director of the Divided We Fail initiative. "With an election that is already making history in terms of gender, the candidates are focusing on the issues women maintain are most important. This poll shows that women are worried about their financial security above a host of other issues."

In addition, the survey shows that 62 percent of surveyed women believe that they will play a larger role than past years in deciding the 2008 election and 28 percent of female respondents say they have no idea for whom they will vote in the 2008 presidential election.

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