The Gender Paradox in Public Opinion Surveys

Abstract

The results of public opinion surveys clearly reflect real gender differences in society on questions directly pertaining to gender, but there is no fundamental difference between the opinions of men and women on other questions of civic politics or life values. This article asks whether gender is a subject which is in fact separate from other areas of life. The analysis was based on empirical material from selected data bases from 1990-1996, which included all surveys testing civic and political attitudes and values over a period of time. In civic and political questions the only difference was the greater tendency to extreme positions on the part of men, while women tended to be noncommittal. Among the values tested, no difference was discovered between men and women. Gender as an ascribed social status modifies values directly through acquired elements of social status, a typical example of this being education. For the values of work and social prestige the dominant influence among lower and middle education groups is age, which is reinforced by gender. Among people with higher education, the influence of age virtually disappears and gender gains in