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

TLDR

Studies in many countries have shown women to be more conservative and less politically active than men. This study examines whether the traditional gender gap persists, whether gender cleavages have converged, and whether a modern gender gap with women leaning left has emerged elsewhere. The analysis uses World Values Survey data from the early 1980s and early to mid‑1990s across over sixty countries. The results reveal a realignment of gender differences in electoral behavior, with women increasingly left‑leaning relative to men in advanced industrial societies, while post‑communist and developing countries show no such shift, and the study discusses structural and cultural drivers and political implications.

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.