Sexist Beliefs and Participation in the 2016 Presidential Election: Evidence from the General Social Survey

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many studies of the 2016 U.S. presidential election have demonstrated that American voters with strong sexist beliefs tended to vote against the female candidate, Hillary Clinton. However, most of these studies did not pay much attention to whether eligible voters chose to vote. This study analyzed the 2018 and 2020 General Social Surveys to examine how American voters’ gender stereotypes in the family and sexist attitudes toward women in politics were associated with their participation in the 2016 presidential election—the latest election when the surveys were conducted—considering their party identification. The study discovered that strong Democrats who harbored a sexist attitude toward women in politics were less likely to participate in the 2016 presidential election than were Republicans and Independents with the same attitude. Furthermore, weak Democrats and Independents who endorsed traditional gender stereotypes in the family were less likely to participate in the election than were Republicans with the same ideals. The findings indicate that benevolent sexism may have discouraged some Democrat and Independent voters from going to the polls.