<p>I imagine there would be a huge literature on this topic. I found one interesting article by Inglehart and Norris (2000). I recommend reading the article. The article reports empirical findings relating to gender differences in voting patterns across countries and over time. It also discusses some of the proposed reasons for these differences.</p>

<p>The authors note that gender is generally not as important as class, region, or religion in voting patterns and in the formation of political parties.</p>

<p>To quote a few particular passages:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Studies carried out in many countries in previous decades found that women were more 
  conservative than men and less likely to participate in politics....  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) ...</p>
</blockquote>

<p>To explain this movement of women tending to vote for left wing candidates, they offer what they call the Developmental Theory of Gender Realignment:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[They] argue that a developmental theory can be used to explain this
  phenomenon, in which the transformation of sex roles in postindustrial
  societies has influenced the process of value change. As women’s and
  men’s lifestyles and cultural attitudes have been altered by the
  process of societal modernization [the authors] expect this to have a major
  impact on their political preferences.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In short, the article is well worth reading particularly for the way they have summarised various empirical sources of information regarding gender differences.</p>

<h3>References</h3>

<ul>
<li>Inglehart, R., &amp; Norris, P. (2000). The developmental theory of the gender gap: Women’s and men’s voting behavior in global perspective. International Political Science Review, 21(4), 441-463. <a href="http://hassler-j.iies.su.se/pub/EdinburgConf/441.pdf" rel="nofollow">PDF</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-12T10:24:08.943Z
2012-11-12T10:24:08.943Z
Jeromy Anglim
<p>To put it simply: <em>Rising Tide</em> (on <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Rising_Tide.html?id=Gzvt11ztO7IC" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Google Books</a>, on <a href="https://www.academia.edu/49828448/Rising_tide_Gender_equality_and_cultural_change_around_the_world" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Academia.edu</a>), Inglehart and Norris, 2003. You may regard it as a sequel to the cite previously given by Jeromy, that goes further in its analysis. The shift was long-term and gradual, with the eclipsing of relative left-right standing between females and males happened, in the case of the U.S., by around the 1950's.</p>
<p>The growing gender divide in the 2020's, such as discussed here by <a href="https://time.com/6963752/great-global-gender-divide/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;The Global Gender Divide We Really Should Be Talking About&quot; - Newsweek</a>, where it is noted &quot;This gender gap in ideology is five times wider than in 2000, and wider than at any previous point in polling history.&quot;, may be considered as a continuation of this long-term process, rather than as something new. It was also discussed here <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/29fd9b5c-2f35-41bf-9d4c-994db4e12998" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;A new global gender divide is emerging&quot; - Financial Times</a> and in many other recent news publications.</p>
<p>Underscoring the point that this is a continuation of a long-term process: these developments postdate both the query and first reply by a decade.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-23T19:21:50.313Z
2024-10-23T19:21:50.313Z
NinjaDarth
<p>I'm looking for recommended reading on difference in voting patterns between men and women - both empirical data and theoretical explanations. In particular, have any significant biases (in terms of political spectrum or specific issues) been confirmed when comparing male and female voting patterns?</p>

<reference-request><sex-differences><political-psychology>
Difference between voting patterns in men and women
Marcin Kotowski
# Difference between voting patterns in men and women

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-11-12)

I'm looking for recommended reading on difference in voting patterns between men and women - both empirical data and theoretical explanations. In particular, have any significant biases (in terms of political spectrum or specific issues) been confirmed when comparing male and female voting patterns?

**Tags:** reference-request, sex-differences, political-psychology


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2012-11-12. Score: 4

I imagine there would be a huge literature on this topic. I found one interesting article by Inglehart and Norris (2000). I recommend reading the article. The article reports empirical findings relating to gender differences in voting patterns across countries and over time. It also discusses some of the proposed reasons for these differences.

The authors note that gender is generally not as important as class, region, or religion in voting patterns and in the formation of political parties.

To quote a few particular passages:

> Studies carried out in many countries in previous decades found that women were more
> conservative than men and less likely to participate in politics.... 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) ...

To explain this movement of women tending to vote for left wing candidates, they offer what they call the Developmental Theory of Gender Realignment:

> [They] argue that a developmental theory can be used to explain this
> phenomenon, in which the transformation of sex roles in postindustrial
> societies has influenced the process of value change. As women’s and
> men’s lifestyles and cultural attitudes have been altered by the
> process of societal modernization [the authors] expect this to have a major
> impact on their political preferences.

In short, the article is well worth reading particularly for the way they have summarised various empirical sources of information regarding gender differences.

### References

* Inglehart, R., & Norris, P. (2000). The developmental theory of the gender gap: Women’s and men’s voting behavior in global perspective. International Political Science Review, 21(4), 441-463. [PDF](http://hassler-j.iies.su.se/pub/EdinburgConf/441.pdf)


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### Answer by username_2 on 2024-10-23. Score: 0

To put it simply: *Rising Tide* (on [Google Books](https://books.google.com/books/about/Rising_Tide.html?id=Gzvt11ztO7IC), on [Academia.edu](https://www.academia.edu/49828448/Rising_tide_Gender_equality_and_cultural_change_around_the_world)), Inglehart and Norris, 2003. You may regard it as a sequel to the cite previously given by Jeromy, that goes further in its analysis. The shift was long-term and gradual, with the eclipsing of relative left-right standing between females and males happened, in the case of the U.S., by around the 1950's.

The growing gender divide in the 2020's, such as discussed here by ["The Global Gender Divide We Really Should Be Talking About" - Newsweek](https://time.com/6963752/great-global-gender-divide/), where it is noted "This gender gap in ideology is five times wider than in 2000, and wider than at any previous point in polling history.", may be considered as a continuation of this long-term process, rather than as something new. It was also discussed here ["A new global gender divide is emerging" - Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/29fd9b5c-2f35-41bf-9d4c-994db4e12998) and in many other recent news publications.

Underscoring the point that this is a continuation of a long-term process: these developments postdate both the query and first reply by a decade.


---

