At the polling place on Election Day, my friend Shirley told me that I should write more often about women.

She was right.

In the post-election analysis, most attention has been focused on Hispanic-American voters. Relatively few of them voted Republican, while they served as an overwhelming source of support for President Obama.

Their numbers are steadily growing, and they are expected to be a major factor in growing Democratic majorities unless the Republicans begin recruiting them. Texas, now a solid GOP state, is expected to shift party domination within a decade because of Hispanic voters.

All of this focus on Hispanics has missed an even more important demographic in recent elections: Politically, women matter more than men. It’s as simple as that.

They are 51.5 percent of the voting-age population, and a higher percentage of women vote than do men. Most women vote for the Democrats. That’s true for the last six presidential elections. In other words, there are more women than men, they vote more and they favor Democrats.

And all of this has little to do with whether they are white, black, Hispanic, gay or straight. In almost all groups, a majority of women support the Democrats.

Women are better educated. More of them complete high school than men, though men lead them in GEDs. And more women are now getting college degrees than men. Formerly, post-high school education of women was mostly about becoming a teacher or nurse. Now about half of business-related bachelor’s degrees go to women.

Many women are now the head of household as single moms, or simply living alone.

In the household, even with a man around, they are likely to be the person who deals with health, housework, routine shopping and childcare, all of which gives them a markedly different perspective on economic issues than men.

And many more are in the workforce, either as the sole household breadwinner or as part of a dual-earner family. The working woman is now the norm, not the exception.

But, in general, women earn less pay for the same work. And they know it.

Women also live longer, though with increased workforce participation the gap between women and men seems to have narrowed a bit.

They are not single-issue voters, influenced, for example, only by candidate’s views on abortion. Bringing up children and aware of the services that government provides or supports, most believe that government has a significant role to play in the areas of health and welfare. As a result, they worry when they hear pledges to cut public spending on social programs.

When government spending is debated, many women are able to visualize the effect in their lives of deep cuts in social spending. To many of them, saying that such current spending amounts to “socialism” verges on the ridiculous.

Right now, the single most important issue dividing the parties is the role of government. If spending is reduced on education, childcare, health and income support, women would feel the pain far more than men.

Single mothers rely on childcare. The growing ranks of female single heads of family need more childcare, supported by government or through the tax system.

And because women live longer than men, it is no surprise that they are concerned about proposals to reduce access to Social Security and Medicare. 

What about birth control and rape? Clearly, the wholesale attacks on Planned Parenthood, because it provides abortions, worry some women who use it for other health services.

But far more important than the idiotic theories of a few male GOP candidates on rape ”“ too irresponsible to bear repeating here ”“ is the dismissive attitude shown by some Republicans toward women. Recent political statements by men about birth control or rape are more than insensitive; they dismiss women as if they know nothing and their essential concerns have no merit.

One relatively mild but much-noticed sign of the GOP’s dismissive attitude came when Mitt Romney, the party’s presidential nominee, explained how he had sought women for state office, when he was elected governor of Massachusetts. He reviewed “binders” full of resumes submitted by a women’s group.

Clearly, he himself had no female friend, colleague or supporter who he would consider for public office.

Of course, there are Republican women and women who support the GOP. But the Republicans may be in long-term electoral trouble if they cannot appeal to more women.

This year, New Hampshire became the first state to have only women in top state and federal posts. Four out of five are Democrats.

And, of the 11 women elected to the U.S. Senate this year, 10 were Democrats.

It’s time for the GOP to take notice.

— Gordon L. Weil is an author, publisher, consultant, and former official of international organizations and the U.S. and Maine governments.