Gender Gap Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The gender gap refers to a pattern of systematic differences in political attitudes, political behavior, and party affiliation between men and women. Theories of the origins of the gender gap have emphasized variation in the political socialization experiences of men and women that shape the political resources and perspectives of these groups.

From World War II (1939–1945) through the 1970s, a traditional gender gap—one in which women held more conservative political attitudes and were more likely to support center or right-wing parties—appeared in most countries of the world. Societal differences between men and women, such as their longevity, labor force participation, and levels of religiosity, generally yielded these patterns.

However, beginning in the late 1970s,a new pattern emerged in the United States, in which women tended to hold more liberal positions on a variety of issues, such as the appropriate role of government, gender equality, and other issues that are particularly salient to women’s experiences. The gender gap in voting—the difference in the proportion of women and men voting for any given candidate—has also been evident in the United States since 1980, with women being more likely to vote for and identify with the Democratic Party in comparison with their male counterparts. This modern gender gap has been the result, not of movement by women to more liberal attitudes and behavior, but of the increasingly conservative attitudes—and consequent voting behavior—of men.

Although it was first thought to be a reflection of American exceptionalism, the modern gender gap is now experienced in most advanced industrial societies, while preindustrial countries continue to demonstrate a traditional gender gap. Some scholars have suggested that the political socialization experiences of men and women in countries that have undergone the modernization process emphasize postmaterialist values, such as gender equality, feminist identity, and group consciousness. In agrarian societies, however, these values have not been incorporated into the socialization experience because of the lack of modernization. These patterns confirm that the modern gender gap is the result of differences in value orientation rather than differences in standard social and demographic characteristics between men and women.

In addition to being exhibited in differences in political attitudes and voting behavior, the gender gap is also apparent in levels of political activism and participation. Overall, women tend to be less politically active than men, particularly in agrarian societies. However, in the United States, women have voted at an increasingly higher rate than men since 1980, though they have not bridged the gap in other forms of conventional political participation—such as making campaign contributions, contacting governmental officials, or joining a political organization—nor have women reached the same level of representation in the federal legislature. In other postindustrial societies, women have gained increasing representation in their national legislatures; for example, women compose nearly 40 percent of the Norwegian Parliament. As these social trends continue in modern society, these patterns have caused some scholars to suggest that the gender gap in terms of political representation may weaken.

Bibliography:

Burns, Nancy, Kay Lehman Scholzman, and Sidney Verba. The Private Roots of Public Action: Gender, Equality and Political Participation. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001.
Inglehart, Ronald, and Pippa Norris. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Kaufmann, Karen M., and John R. Petrocik. “The Changing Politics of American Men: Understanding the Sources of the Gender Gap.” American Journal of Political Science 43, no. 3 (1999): 864–887.
Sanbonmatsu, Kira. Democrats, Republicans and the Politics of Women’s Place. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002.
Wolcrecht, Christina. The Politics of Women’s Rights: Parties, Positions and Change. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.

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