Gender cleavage and political parties in 19 welfare states, 1900–1975

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cleavage theory posits that political parties have been a key channel for representing political interests, formulated by cleavage structures. Existing literature argues that gender differences are not strong enough to constitute a cleavage, as evidenced by early voting behaviour among women. This article contends that the paradox of the traditional gender gap may arise from our lack of understanding about supply-side explanations, namely political parties’ positions on gender policies in early history. In the early and mid-twentieth centuries, women’s political interests stemmed from their role as homemakers and workers, advocating for family allowance and paid maternity leave. Using a novel historical database, I test whether parties’ positions aligned with women’s political interests in 19 welfare states between 1900 and 1975. My findings show that Christian democratic parties advocated for gender policies, albeit selectively, depending on the types of gender issues, while social democratic parties did not exhibit stronger support for gender policies more than other parties. This helps us understand why women did not predominantly vote for leftist parties. Instead, female representatives in parliaments across party affiliations functioned as agents of women’s interests and promoted welfare policies that supported the different roles of women.