Inequalities In Political Participation Research Articles

Gendered opportunities across modes of political participation: a macro–micro analysis of the gender gap

We examine the role of ‘gendered opportunities’ for political participation by analysing original survey data covering nine European countries alongside relevant macro-level factors. We hypothesize that gender interacts differently with certain features of the broader context – here, government spending on public services – across various modes of participation, leading to ‘gendered opportunities’ for political engagement. By analysing data for three different modes of participation, namely voting, protest and consumerist participation, we show that the political context provides ‘gendered opportunities’ for political participation and that the gender gap is not homogeneously distributed across modes but varies depending on the repertoire. Our findings clearly highlight how the relationship between gender and the broader context for political participation is a complex one, suggesting that further work must consider the macro–micro linkages leading to differential gender inequalities in political participation.

Cultural sources of gender gaps: Confucian meritocracy reduces gender inequalities in political participation

The historical oppression of women in China mirrors the experiences of women in many other cultures. During the imperial era, Confucian ideologies and institutions played a significant role in perpetuating women's disenfranchisement. This perception has become deeply entrenched, to the extent that contemporary discussions on women's status often automatically refer to lingering Confucian legacies as one of the obstacles to achieving gender equality. However, this study offers a nuanced perspective by shedding light on how certain aspects of Confucianism, notably meritocracy, may serve to empower modern-day women. The research focuses on the Chinese context, particularly the historically significant Confucian-based meritocratic institution known as the civil examination system (keju). I argue that historical meritocratic legacies can have a lasting impact on contemporary behavior, specifically by reducing the gender gap in political participation in local village elections. Using data from historical archives and the China General Social Survey, I find a negative correlation between a prefecture's historical success in the keju exams and the gender gap in village election turnout among present-day respondents. Further exploratory analyses reveal that the enduring Confucian tradition of meritocracy also empowers other low-status social groups, including the economically disadvantaged and the less educated.

Political Inequality

Inequality in political participation and influence has strongly increased in recent decades, breeding economic inequality. In this review, we focus on three aspects of political inequality: the increasing concentration of both political and charitable donations, the growing gap in descriptive representation, and the persistent lack of substantive representation. Based on the existing literature as well as on novel evidence, we relate these aspects to the recent widening of turnout inequality. We then examine novel forms of participation—e.g., the rise of small donors in the United States—and the efficiency of policies aimed at improving representation. Finally, we discuss new avenues for research.

Disparitas Sosial, Komunikasi Politik dan Partisipasi Politik Gender

The aim of this research is to analyze and offer strategies to increase women's political participation in Islamic societies. The benefit of this research is to increase awareness in Islamic communities about the importance of gender equality in participating in politics and to increase women's political participation in Islamic communities. The theory used in this research is the social construction theory of gender. This research uses descriptive qualitative methods to analyze data related to gender inequality in political participation in Islamic communities. Data was collected through interviews with several informants who are experienced in Islamic politics and society. The research results show that gender inequality in political participation in Islamic communities is visible in several aspects. First, women are still given less opportunities to participate in the political decision-making process. Second, women still experience discrimination in accessing information and resources needed for political participation. Third, women still experience stigma and stereotypes that prevent them from participating in politics. The suggestions and recommendations in this research, such as increasing awareness, developing resources, eliminating stigma and stereotypes, and developing partnerships, are expected to help overcome gender inequality in political participation in Islamic communities.

Who is Mobilized to Vote by Short Text Messages? Evidence from a Nationwide Field Experiment with Young Voters

AbstractUsing a large randomized controlled trial and rich individual-level data on eligible voters and their household members, we evaluate how get-out-the-vote (GOTV) appeals affect inequalities in voting, transmit from treated to untreated individuals within households, and how the transmission of voting decisions through family networks influences inequalities in voting. We find that receiving a text message reminder before the Finnish county elections in 2022 mobilized mainly low-propensity voters. As a result, the GOTV intervention reduced existing social inequalities in voting within the target group of young voters. We remarkably find that over 100% of the direct treatment effect spilled over to untreated household members. These spillovers reduced inequality in political participation among the older voters who were not part of the target group. Overall, our results exemplify how randomized controlled trials with a limited focus on the analysis of individuals in the treatment and control groups alone may lead to misestimating the compositional effects of get-out-the-vote interventions.

Moved to Vote: The Long-Run Effects of Neighborhoods on Political Participation

Abstract How does one's childhood neighborhood shape political engagement later in life? We study voting rates of children who were displaced by public housing demolitions and moved to higher opportunity areas using housing vouchers. Those displaced during childhood had 11% (2 pp) higher participation in the 2016 Presidential election and were 10% (2.9 pp) more likely to vote in any general election. We argue that the results are unlikely to be driven by changes in incarceration or parental outcomes but rather by political socialization or improvements in education and earnings. These results suggest that housing assistance programs may reduce inequality in political participation.

Material deprivation in childhood and unequal political socialization: the relationship between children’s economic hardship and future voting

Abstract Long-term socialization patterns are considered a key explanation for socio-economic inequalities in political participation. Material conditions in youth and childhood are assumed to contribute to rather stable trajectories of political apathy or involvement and lay the foundations for unequal participation from before voting age and far into adulthood. However, our understanding of when such inequalities begin to become noticeable, the importance of parental socio-economic status as opposed to personal socio-economic status, and potential long-term consequences is still limited. We address these issues using the youth questionnaire of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. We show that material deprivation in childhood is negatively related to turnout in young adults’ first election in which they are eligible to vote. This result holds when we control for an unusually exhaustive list of potential confounders, such as psychological childhood characteristics, parental–political interest and education, present material conditions, mental health, and future educational degrees. Our results, hence, suggest that—while personal socio-economic experiences in early adulthood are not irrelevant—socio-economic family background has an independent effect on political participation.

Income Inequality in U.S. Voting: A Visualization

Although it is clear that the 2020 election broke turnout records, we do not know how levels of voting changed across income groups. Journalistic accounts emphasized increases in turnout across demographic groups but relied on self-reported voter data. The authors use validated voting data from both the Common Election Study and the Pew Research Center to examine the relationship between income and voting across the two elections (along with education and race in supplemental analyses ). The authors show that levels of inequality in political participation were the same or higher in 2020 compared with previous years and that there are substantial differences in coefficients for income between the two data sets, raising questions about the accuracy of validated voter data.

GENDER AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN EAST KALIMANTAN GOVERNOR ELECTION 2008–2018

This study aims to promote the participation of women in the gubernatorial election. Gender issues remain an essential source of inequality in political participation since men are more politically active than women in the findings of various studies. As the second highest ranking in the Human Development Index nationally, it is surprising that Gender Development Index (GDI) in East Kalimantan Province ranks the third lowest in Indonesia. As one of GDI’s indicators, women’s political participation, in particular, in the gubernatorial election, is the study object. The election of the head of the region in East Kalimantan has so far been marked by a lack of active political participation by women, while their participation in politics is essential for gender issues, family welfare, children protection and wellbeing, education, as well as healthcare. The absence of women candidates and the governor or vice-governor was studied in terms of four aspects of political participation, i.e., voting, political campaign, political discussion, and contacting perspective. The study used a qualitative research method with data collection conducted via an interview. This revealed that, based on the study results, contact and political discussions were limited among women activists, while women, in general, were still in the voting form participation. Religion and belief are influencing factors in the voting criteria. Additionally, personal relation, closeness, and native candidate were some of the voting criteria women voters considered. The patriarchal culture common in Indonesia caused it. In conclusion, the active political participation of women can be enhanced via political education, financial support, and dissemination of gender equality propaganda instead of patriarchal culture.

Political inequality in participation index - a Gini-based measure of inequalities in political participation

Measuring inequalities in political participation across social groups is a challenging task as participation is typically coded in dummy variables. For instance, social scientists record whether their respondents have voted in the previous elections (1) or not (0). In this paper, we identify a list of desirable criteria that an inequality index used for empirical comparative studies should meet. Existing inequality indices fail to satisfy one or more of these criteria. Building on our list, we define a new Gini-type index, the Political Inequality in Participation Index (PIPI), suitable for cross-country comparisons. We show that inequalities measured by the PIPI are correlated to, but are qualitatively different from the best-known measurements. In particular, using data simulation techniques, we demonstrate that this correlation is decreasing in the complexity of societies’ structure. Moreover, by replicating an existing study, we further demonstrate that when working with real-world data, the PIPI provides new empirical results.

America’s rusted families: working-class political participation through three biological generations (1965–1997)

Has social reproduction through families preserved unequal political participation amongst the working class in post-industrial society? This article builds on both political and sociological traditions to consider the family as a tenacious social structure that reproduces political participation from one generation to the next. In order to answer this empirically, the study uses a longitudinal panel data of political behaviour across three biological generations in the United States (1965–1997). The findings show that respondents who grew up in working-class families are less likely to vote as adults regardless of whether they have working-class occupations or not. The transmission of un-equal participation is partially mediated by the voting behaviour of the parent who models this behaviour to their children. The study also shows that the second generation of respondents transmits low political participation to their offspring in the third generation. This study implies that occupational structures of a past industrial society are still politically relevant and that inequalities in political participation remain a legacy amongst the biological descendants of working-class families from the 1960s. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2022.2044220 .

Gender inequalities in political participation and political engagement among young people in Europe: Are young women less politically engaged than young men?

This paper contributes to the literature by examining gender inequalities in political participation and political engagement among young people from a comparative perspective. By analysing data on young people from nine European countries collected in 2018, we examine gender inequalities in participation in various modes of conventional and unconventional activism as well as related attitudes, broader political engagement and key determinants, cross-nationally, in order to provide a detailed picture of the current state of gender inequalities in political activism among young people in Europe. Our results allow us to speak to extant theorising about gender inequalities by showing that the extent of political inequality between young men and women is less marked than one might expect. While the gender gaps in political participation for activities such as confrontational types of protest are small or absent, we find that young women are actually more active in petitioning, boycotting, and volunteering in the community. Young men instead are more active than young women in a majority of the nine countries analysed with respect to more institutional forms of participation linked to organizations and parties, various types of online political participation, and broader political engagement measures, such as internal political efficacy and consumption of political news through various channels. However, young men also appear to be more sceptical at least of certain aspects of democratic practice relative to young women.

Mobilizing the Underrepresented: Electoral Systems and Gender Inequality in Political Participation

AbstractTo study the political mobilization of underrepresented groups, this article examines the effect of electoral systems on gender equality in voting. Theoretically, I argue that replacing a plurality electoral system with proportional representation (PR) gives party elites greater incentives to mobilize women to vote in all but the most competitive districts under plurality rule. Yet, they need to tap into women's networks to succeed with such mobilizing efforts. Empirically, I isolate the causal effect of PR by studying an imposed shift from plurality to PR in Norwegian municipalities. Using a difference‐in‐differences design, I estimate that the move from plurality to PR substantially decreased gender inequality in voting. The effect is most pronounced in previously uncompetitive municipalities and where women's networks are present. This study thus demonstrates how the social environment conditions the effect of democratic institutions on the political participation of marginalized groups.

Correction to: Civic education as an antidote to inequalities in political participation? New evidence from English secondary education

Correction to: Civic education as an antidote to inequalities in political participation? New evidence from English secondary education

Strength in Numbers: How Women's Groups Close India's Political Gender Gap

AbstractIn India, there persists a striking gender gap in political participation. Women's political participation is important both on normative grounds of inclusion and because when women participate, politics changes. I develop a theoretical model of women's political behavior, arguing that women's lack of political participation is the result of the structure of women's political networks in patriarchal societies. I then evaluate the effect of expanding women's networks by leveraging a natural experiment that created as‐if random variation in access to women‐only credit groups. Participation in these groups had a significant and substantial impact on women's political participation—women's attendance at public meetings doubled. I provide suggestive evidence of three mechanisms underlying this effect: (1) larger networks, (2) increased capacity for collective action within networks, and (3) development of civic skills. These findings contribute to our understanding of how networks affect political behavior and underlie gendered inequalities in political participation.

Civic education as an antidote to inequalities in political participation? New evidence from English secondary education.

Entrenched inequalities in political participation have made the questions of who participates and when, why, or how some of the most frequently asked and researched in political science. Building on existing comparative research, this article focuses on civic education in English secondary schools and, in particular, the ability of related interventions to close participation gaps normally seen by sex, ethnicity and socio-economic status. Analysing original survey data collected from more than 350 students in 17 maintained secondary schools located in six regions of England, this article evaluates the impact of four types of civic education (curricula lessons; open classroom climate; participatory activities; and political contact) on three participatory outcomes (expressive political behaviours; voting intentions; and anticipated high-intensity participation). Descriptive and inferential analyses suggest (a) cumulative quantities of civic education are positively associated with youth political participation; (b) open classroom climate may close known inequalities in young people’s expressive and electoral participation whilst political contact with politicians and political institutions may widen those inequalities; and (c) civic education may currently accelerate inequalities in young people’s political ambition. These findings raise important and immediate challenges for policy-makers who are concerned with improving young people’s civic engagement in England and elsewhere.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1057/s41293-021-00186-4.

Reinforcement Effects between Digital Media Use and Political Participation: A Meta-Analysis of Repeated-Wave Panel Data

Abstract As digital media use has rapidly increased in prevalence and diversified in form, scholars across the globe have focused extensive attention on how the use of digital media relates to political participation. To assess the results of this emerging body of research, we conduct the first meta-analysis of repeated-wave panel data studies on the relationship between digital media use and political participation. The findings, based on 38 survey-based, repeated-wave panel studies (279 coefficients) bring new evidence to bear on two questions central to this literature. First, the findings provide new insight into the classic mobilization versus reinforcement debate: contrary to common assumption, the findings support a reinforcement effect, whereby those who are already politically active are motivated to use digital media. Second, the results indicate that the relationship between digital media use and political participation is durable, as studies with a longer time lag were more likely to yield positive and significant effects. Taken together, this evidence in support of a durable reinforcement effect implies the potential for digital media use to contribute to increased inequality in political participation over time. In the concluding discussion, we outline directions for further theoretical inquiry and empirical research that leverage the value of repeated-wave panel studies to make causal inferences.

Who Votes More Strategically?

Strategic voting is an important explanation for aggregate political phenomena, but we know little about how strategic voting varies across types of voters. Are richer voters more strategic than poorer voters? Does strategic behavior vary with age, education, gender, or political leaning? The answers may be important for assessing how well an electoral system represents different preferences in society. We introduce a new approach to measuring and comparing strategic voting across voters that can be broadly applied, given appropriate survey data. In recent British elections, we find that older voters vote more strategically than younger voters and that richer voters vote more strategically than poorer voters, even as strategic behavior varies little across the education level. The differences in strategic voting by age and income are smaller than observed differences in turnout by age and income, but they tend to exacerbate these better-known inequalities in political participation.

How do schools affect inequalities in political participation: compensation of social disadvantage or provision of differential access?

Both direct and indirect influences have been assumed to impact the transmission of political orientations within families. A lower socioeconomic status is related to lower intended political participation of adolescents. Within this context, schools play a crucial role in political socialisation, as citizenship education is assumed to either equalise or maintain these social disparities. We analyse a sub-dataset of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 which includes 14-year-old students in four European countries: Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia) and the Netherlands. Multi-level regression analyses reveal that formal citizenship education compensates the relationship between students’ socioeconomic status and intended electoral participation in Denmark, Germany (NRW) and the Netherlands, but not in Belgium (FL). Further, the composition of school classes is related to the perception of an open classroom climate in each of the four countries and to participation in civic activities at school in three countries.

Can inequalities in political participation explain health inequalities?

Inequalities in health are pervasive and durable, but they are not uniform. To date, however, the drivers of these between-country patters in health inequalities remain largely unknown. In this analysis, we draw on data from 17 European countries to explore whether inequalities in political participation, that is, inequalities in voting by educational attainment, are correlated with health inequalities. Over and above a range of relevant confounders, such as GDP, income inequality, health spending, social protection spending, poverty rates, and smoking, greater inequalities in political participation remain correlated with higher health inequalities. If ‘politicians and officials are under no compulsion to pay much heed to classes and groups of citizens that do not vote’ then political inequalities could indirectly affect health through its impact on policy choices that determine who has access to the resources necessary for a healthy life. Inequalities in political participation, then, may well be one of the ‘causes of the causes’ of ill-health.