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.

C。根据题目中的关键词previous survey findings可定位到第三段。第三段第二句指出，经济研究和过去调查结果表明，女性因为生育而导致职业生涯中断，可能会使女性更难在职业生涯中获得晋升，也更难竞争高管职位。也就是说，过去的研究表明女性事业受阻与她们在家庭中的责任有关，与C项表述相同，因此选C。原文只是说女性在竞争高级领导的路上困难重重，而非女性在成功之路上遇到了不可逾越的困难，A项表述偷换概念，故排除。B项关键词lacking in confidence在原文中未提及，故排除。D项表示只有很少女性会在事业进步方面受阻，与原文相悖，故排除。