According to the majority of Americans, women are every bit as capable of being good political leaders as men. The same can be said of their ability to dominate the corporate boardroom. And according to a new Pew Research Center survey on women and leadership, most Americans find women indistinguishable from men on key leadership traits such as intelligence and capacity for innovation, with many saying they’re stronger than men in terms of being passionate and organized leaders.

    So why, then, are women in short supply at the top of government and business in the United States? According to the public, at least, it’s not that they lack toughness, management talent or proper skill sets.

    It’s also not all about work-life balance. Although economic research and previous survey findings have shown that career interruptions related to motherhood may make it harder for women to advance in their careers and compete for top executive jobs, relatively few adults in the recent survey point to this as a key barrier for women seeking leadership roles. Only about one-in-five say women’s family responsibilities are a major reason why there aren’t more females in top leadership positions in business and politics.

    Instead, topping the list of reasons, about four-in-ten Americans point to a double standard for women seeking to climb to the highest levels of either politics or business, where they have to do more than their male counterparts to prove themselves. Similar shares say the electorate (选民) and corporate America are just not ready to put more women in top leadership positions.

    As a result, the public is divided about whether the imbalance in corporate America will change in the foreseeable future, even though women have made major advances in the workplace. While 53% believe men will continue to hold more top executive positions in business in the future, 44% say it’s only a matter of time before as many women are in top executive positions as men. Americans are less doubtful when it comes to politics: 73% expect to see a female president in their lifetime.

A。根据题目关键词American expect和America’s political stage定位到最后一段。该段最后一句指出，在政治方面，美国人的看法更坚定，受访的美国人中有73%希望在有生之年看到女性担任总统。A项中the highest position of government即指总统，因此A项正确。原文未提及是否有更多女性参政，也没有提及大多数女性会为女性总统候选人投票，故B、C两项排除。最后一段提到，44%的人认为担任高层管理职位的女性迟早会和男性一样多，原文说的是top executive positions，并非top government positions，而且44%也并不是大多数美国人，故D项错误。