The Developmental Theory of the Gender Gap: Women’s and Men’s Voting Behavior in Global Perspective

Ronald Inglehart,Pippa Norris

doi:10.1177/0192512100214007

Abstract

Studies carried out in many countries in previous decades found that women were more conservative than men and less likely to participate in politics. Here, it is examined whether this traditional gender gap persists today, or whether gender cleavages in the electorate have converged, and whether the phenomenon of the modern gender gap, with women more left wing, has become evident elsewhere. The article draws on evidence from the World Values Surveys in the early 1980s, and the early and mid-1990s carried out in over sixty countries around the world. This study establishes that gender differences in electoral behavior have been realigning, with women moving toward the left of men throughout advanced industrial societies (though not in postcommunist societies or developing countries) and explores the reasons for this development, including the role of structural and cultural factors. The conclusion considers the political implications of the findings.

Highlights

Studies carried out in many countries in previous decades found that women were more conservative than men and less likely to participate in politics
If caused by specific factors which are distinctive to American politics, such as the traditional lack of a strong class cleavage in the electorate, the centrist pattern of two party competition, or the salience of issues like abortion and affirmative action, we would expect that the modern gender gap in the United States would prove to be sui generis, or at least highly contingent upon particular conditions found in particular countries, such as the predominant issue agenda, patterns of party competition, or cultural values
We recognize that the term “gender gap” concerns a multidimensional political phenomenon that can refer to any political differences between women and men, such as in their voting behavior, partisanship, attitudes and opinions, or civic engagement, at mass or elite levels, but the concern of this article is restricted to comparing voting choices

Summary

Introduction

Studies carried out in many countries in previous decades found that women were more conservative than men and less likely to participate in politics. We lack systematic comparative evidence in the World Values Survey from the era prior to the 1980s, we would expect to find long-term secular trends reflected in differences between the respective age cohorts, with the younger cohort of women most strongly influenced by the transformation of sex roles in advanced industrial societies.

Results

Conclusion