It's looking more and more possible that women could decide this landmark election. Pollsters talk about the gender gap, that is, the gap between men and women in the candidates whom they support. It's been growing.

The gender gap matters because, to quote my pollster consultant, "Women are the deciders. Women make up a larger proportion of the electorate (53 to 54 percent), and a point gained among women is going to be more net votes than a point gained among men."

In other words, not all percentages are equal.

Some pollsters said the economy means more to men than to women. Ann Romney, appearing on "The View," said women cared more about jobs. I'm a Democrat, but I'm siding with Ann Romney on this one. And studies agree: Women do not date unemployed men. Women have the babies, and so they are concerned about having enough money to raise and care for their children. Reproductive health also is an economic issue for women. Men don't have to worry about contraception being denied or talking to a doctor about an unplanned pregnancy. Women do.

According to polls, some independent female voters distinguish between social issues and jobs. In that case, those more concerned about social issues choose President Barack Obama. But there are undecided women voters still watching both candidates and working earnestly to decide, since they feel the social and economic issues are equally important. And some of these women feel neither candidate understands them.

A survey was released recently about Walmart moms, a group of female voters who favor Walmart. A bipartisan polling team discovered this distinctive voting group about two years ago. Pollsters discovered these women make up 27 percent of all female voters, and 14 percent of all registered voters. It's no surprise both campaigns are targeting ads at them.

A focus group of Walmart moms watched the third presidential debate. After the debate, three decided for Obama and two for Romney. Five leaned to Romney; six leaned to Obama. Four remained undecided.

A pro-Romney woman explained her reason: "Why is (Obama) still blaming other people after four years? I think he should be fired." But according to several, Romney's biggest disadvantage was, as one woman summed up for them, "(Romney) can't back anything up. He's too all over the place. Obama is very straightforward."

The Walmart moms gave Obama a clear edge in the debate, based mostly on being able to trust what he had to say because of his specifics.

For women, Romney has several weaknesses on both social issues and the economy, and they all revolve around his shifting positions and refusal to give specifics about what he'll do. Yet, women are also dissatisfied with the pace of the recovery; neither candidate has given them the assurance they're looking for.

Romney is hitting Obama on the statistic that there are 780,000 more women unemployed than when Obama took office. Originally, the recession was called the "mancession," because men lost their jobs at a greater rate than women. However, men have recovered their jobs faster and in greater number than women have.

Gender differences help explain the difference in job recovery. More unemployed women than men have taken over child care. It became essential to cut costs in many households, and hiring child care professionals was one of the first cuts to be made. When child care exceeds the cost of what a woman can earn, women drop out of the workforce and care for the children. Their husbands can command higher salaries and wages for the same jobs

Obama should emphasize even more his efforts on behalf of women, beginning with equal pay, and how in the midst of a recovery Republican policies have increased unemployment among women.
