The year was 1946, and America was emerging from the war years. With many men serving in the military overseas, women took a major role in America's war effort, doing everything from building aircraft as "Rosie the Riveter" to flying those same planes across the country as part of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron.

Taking such a strong role in society may be one of the many reasons why many of those women felt confident about their future, and that of their daughters.

When asked in 1946 by the Gallup Organization about their expectations for their daughters, 61 percent of the women thought opportunities for their daughters would be better than they had, while 64 percent of fathers gave that response about their sons.

Fast forward 60 years and we find that, while fathers' optimism about their sons is about the same, mothers' optimism about their daughters soared, with 85 percent believing their daughters' opportunities would be better than their own.

"That was an enormous sea change of women's attitude," said Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow with the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Bowman said that was the most striking result from a review of survey data she collected as part of the study "Women's Attitudes: Some Poll-Based Observations."

AEI, a private, nonpartisan and not-for-profit group, released the study earlier this week, which examined women's attitude about everything from family, feminism, women in politics and women's roles and work.

This seems an appropriate year to do so given that we have a woman running for president, a woman serving as the first speaker of the House and more women than ever before leading major companies and organizations.

Part of the reason for the increased optimism has been the higher level of education obtained by women over the last half century, the study found.

Nearly 60 percent of first-year college students this year said their mothers had a college education or more, a jump from 18 percent reported by first-year college students in 1966, according to one UCLA survey.

"I'm very impressed with the progress young women have made," Bowman said. "When they asked college students (about their mother's education), you can see such an enormous progress.

"We have made enormous strides," she said. "When you look at young women, they are taking advantage of those opportunities."

Other study results include:

— A total of 24 percent of those surveyed by CBS News said they considered themselves feminists, which included 27 percent of women and 21 percent of men.

— A total of 34 percent of granddaughters of feminists (young women between the ages of 13 and 20) considered themselves feminists, according to an Element/American Demographics survey.

— A total of 74 percent of Americans said they were satisfied with the position of women in the nation, according to a poll earlier this year by Gallup.

— About 94 percent of women said they were satisfied or mostly satisfied with their lives, according to a PSRA/Pew Research Center survey this spring.

Attitudes about the women's rights movement have also changed. About 64 percent of women surveyed in 2003 said more effort was needed to improve the status of women, up from the 40 percent reported in 1970.

"You also see enormous optimism with young women and their job prospects and their optimism of combining work with family," Bowman said. "They feel because of the work done by women earlier, they can make whatever choices they want to make."

Current attitudes about women's role in society could have important ramifications in the nation's leadership positions.

Americans in general are more accepting of the idea of a woman president and women in politics, Bowman said.

When asked: "Do you think America is ready to elect a women president or no?" 58 percent of those surveyed said yes as of June 2007, up from 40 percent surveyed in late 1996.

"We've come a long ways baby," Bowman said. "We have serious female candidate for president, she has a very good shot and we will have to wait and see."

In another study Bowman is working on, she has noticed a change in the way women politicians are being evaluated, like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

"She is being evaluated like a regular politician, evaluated on her own merits," she said.

To see the full study, visit: www.aei.org/publications/pubID.26532/pub_detail.asp.

— Frank Moraga is The Star's director of diversity and general manager of Mi Estrella, The Star's bilingual weekly newspaper. He can be reached at fmoraga@VenturaCountyStar.com.