PROVIDENCE -- What do Rhode Island women want?

When it comes to economic and political issues, they want a quality education for their children, affordable health care for their families, and a secure retirement, according to survey results that will be detailed this morning by the Women's Fund of Rhode Island.

The first-of-its-kind survey found Rhode Island women appreciate the importance and power of voting, and they are interested in local issues and races, particularly the governor's race.

Yet an earlier study found that Rhode Island women have among the lowest levels of elected representation in state and national office in the nation.

So what should local women take away from the latest survey? "We believe we have the ability to make change, so we need to get active," said Marcia Coné-Tighe, the fund's executive director.

And what should this year's candidates take away from the survey? "They should pay attention to what women are worried about," pollster Anna Greenberg said. "The bottom line is Rhode Island women would like someone to address their very serious economic insecurities -- cost of living, health care, gas prices and secure retirement."

While women do care about some of the hot topics in the races for governor and U.S. Senate -- such as political corruption and immigration -- the survey found they place greater emphasis on issues such as the economy, health care and taxes.

"So there is a disconnect between the races and what women want," Greenberg said. "This could be -- not necessarily a wakeup call -- but a signal to people running for office about how they should speak to women. Women tend to be the health and economic managers of their homes."

The Women's Fund of Rhode Island, a nonprofit group founded in 2001 with the help of the Rhode Island Foundation, commissioned the survey, which was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, a research and consulting firm based in Washington, D.C.

While the results are coming out as the election season heats up, Coné-Tighe said the timing is coincidental. "We feel political participation and economic autonomy are two key issues for women in Rhode Island," she said. "We are trying to define how to move forward, and we needed to know what women thought. We are looking at how the Women's Fund can affect women's political participation in the long-term."

In all, 507 Rhode Island women between the ages of 18 and 75 were surveyed between Aug. 22 and Aug. 27, and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Of those surveyed, 76 percent strongly agreed that "voting is one of the most important responsibilities of being a citizen"and 80 percent said they were probably or almost certain to vote in November.

"The good news is that most women understand they can make a difference by voting, and say they'll vote this fall," Coné-Tighe said.

The bad news is that Rhode Island now has no women elected to statewide or federal office.

"For women who aren't planning to vote or get involved in civic life, the biggest barriers are information and time," Coné-Tighe said. "We need to find new ways to reach and motivate women, particularly younger women."

Also, Coné-Tighe said not enough women are recruited to run for public offices. "We need to ask more women to run," she said, "and we need to ask ourselves."

Many women struggle with how to balance a campaign with job and family responsibilities, Coné-Tighe said. "We need to support women so they can run," she said. "If they are economically sound, have affordable quality health care and quality education, they are freed to run."

When asked what issues would motivate them to get more involved in civic life, 27 percent of likely voters cited education, 14 percent cited health care, and 12 percent cited taxes. Also, 8 percent mentioned the casino proposal, 7 percent mentioned the environment and 6 percent mentioned the Iraq war.

The survey asked the participants how interested they were in various races. Of likely voters, 62 percent said they were very interested in the governor's race, compared with 57 percent who were very interested in the U.S. Senate race, 49 percent in the U.S. House of Representatives race, 37 percent in the attorney general's race and 30 percent in the lieutenant governor's race.

Coné-Tighe said that while she was surprised by the interest in the governor's race, "it seems consistent with women saying local issues are important to them."

When asked where their vote would have the most impact, 47 percent of likely voters said local issues, 30 percent said statewide issues and 10 percent said national issues.

When asked how important certain issues were to them, 85 percent of likely voters said health care was very important to them, 81 percent said the economy was very important and 79 percent said education was very important. By comparison, 67 percent cited corruption as very important, 65 percent cited security and emergency preparedness and 53 percent cited immigration.

The survey also gauged how concerned women were about a range of issues. For example, 64 percent of likely voters were very concerned that their "income might not keep up with rising prices," and 34 percent of likely voters were very concerned that they "might be the victim of a terrorist attack, similar to September 11th."

Coné-Tighe said she was struck by how many women are independent when it comes to party affiliation. While 50 percent of likely voters identified themselves as independent -- including those who "lean" Republican or Democrat -- 36 percent were "strong" or "weak" Democrats, and 11 percent were "strong" or "weak" Republicans.

efitzpat@projo.com / (401) 277-7368