Why no gender gap in electoral participation? A civic duty explanation

Abstract

Previous research in comparative political behavior has generated an interesting paradox. Female citizens are less likely to engage in a variety of political activities (e.g. contacting politicians and working for parties), and are less cognitively engaged with the political process (i.e. they have lower levels of political interest and political efficacy). However, for reasons that remain unclear, several cross-national surveys reveal that there is no gender gap in electoral participation. In a number of countries, such as the United States, turnout rates for women have even slightly exceeded turnout rates for men in recent elections. I argue that the main reason for this pattern is the higher sense of civic duty of female citizens. This theory is grounded in research in social psychology that demonstrates that women have a higher level of conscientiousness than men. I use data from the 2014 ISSP Citizenship module to test my theoretical expectations, and find strong support for the argument that civic duty mediates the relationship between sex and electoral participation.