Christopher Getz
March 1, 2015
Race & American Politics
Spring 2015
Women and Party Affiliation: Gender Gaps and Demographic Cleavages
Keywords:
gender, women, voting behavior, party support, party affiliation,
women’s rights, women’s issues, reproductive rights, “War on Women”
Description: Women consistently vote both in greater numbers and as a higher
percentage of eligible voters than men, making them an attractive demographic
for politicians. However, women more consistently support the Democratic Party
than the Republican, for numerous reasons and with some notable exceptions.
Key Points:

Women are both a larger segment of the eligible voting population and
turnout in greater numbers than men

Both political parties specifically target female voters given their greater
impact in national-level elections, particularly presidential races

Polling frequently finds women prioritize different electoral issues than
men

Despite efforts to sway female voters, there is a consistent gender gap in
support for the parties, with women more likely to support the Democrats

However,
there
are
some
notable
exceptions,
suggestion
that
socioeconomic factors and race still have a large effect on party affliation
and support
Much like other historically marginalized groups, the voting behavior of
women is worthy of examination due to the historical factors that shaped and
developed it, and until only relatively recently, prohibited it. The 19th amendment,
which enshrines women’s right to vote in the Constitution, was finally ratified in
1920, just under a century ago.
Prior to this, women in many states were
prohibited from voting, and decades of activism preceded their success1.
(Source: Center for Women and American Politics at Rutgers University)
Since the addition of the 19th amendment, women have become a
powerful force in electoral politics.
1
Most recently, women have become an
National Archives Online: 19th Amendment
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attractive target for politicians, as there are both more eligible women voters in
total and there is a higher turnout rate among women than men2.
Despite efforts by both parties, women have consistently supported the
Democratic Party in greater numbers than the Republican Party, this gender gap
by party persists across all age groups, and among all women support for
Democrats is greater than support for Republicans, 41% to 32%3. This support
suggests a crosscutting cleavage along gender lines, which frequently, though
not always, trumps other socioeconomic issues or racial and ethnic identities.
So-called “women’s issues” are frequently seen as the cause for
disproportionate support among women for Democrats, who favor protecting or
expanding reproductive rights and access, women’s health, ending violence
against women, and ensuring fair pay and economic justice for women4. Health
care issues achieved particular prominence in the debate, passage, and
implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which added
regulations to increase access and coverage of contraceptives, as well as
reducing disproportionate health care and insurance costs for women.
2
Center for American Women and Politics (Rutgers University): Gender Differences in Voter
Turnout
3 Gallup: Women More Likely to Be Democrats, Regardless of Age (June 12, 2009)
4 National Organization of Women website: Issues
The Democratic Party Fact-Sheet on Women’s Issues
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(Source: Gallup Polling, 2009)
This issue, in particular, serves as a useful example of the issues that
underpin debates regarding women’s right or women’s issues.
In the 2012
presidential election, polling found that voters were split by gender on the issues
they prioritized. 5 Women voters indicated they were most concerned about
health care, gas prices, and unemployment, while male voters prioritized the
Federal debt and deficit over gas prices, followed by health care. Consistently
polling shows female voters are often focused on economic issues, such as
unemployment, which women prioritized over issues relating to the Federal debt
or international affairs, while men ranked both as more important than
unemployment.
5
USA Today: “A widening gender gap boosts Obama over Romney” (April 2, 2012)
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Since 2012 there has been little evidence that the Democrat campaign
rhetoric of a Republican “War on Women” has been an effective tool. This was
meant to be illustrative of Republican’s unpopular (with female voters) positions
on reproductive rights, care, and access.
Early during the 2014 midterm
campaign, there were signs Democrats sought to reintroduce the phrase to assist
their electoral chances, but they were badly defeated in the midterm elections,
and some pundits have asserted that they relied too heavily on efforts to motivate
female voters with this rhetoric6.
Research also suggests that although there is greater support among
women for Democrats overall, key demographic groups of women can be
targeted with great success for Republicans. First, “Soccer Moms” became a
terms to describe middle class, largely white, mothers who were considered a
sizeable swing voter bloc.
Harried by the demands of active children,
maintaining a household while working out of the home, and concerned with the
economy and suburban issues, “soccer moms” were targeted by both President
Bill Clinton’s reelection team and challenger Senator Bob Dole7. The term was
later reinvigorated to describe “security moms” who were primarily concerned
with ensuring the safety of their children from terrorist attacks, theoretically an
issue that would more favorably dispose them to Republicans, though evidence
supporting this is limited.
However, as consistent as the gender gap has been, both in party support
and voter turnout, gender does not appear to be a complete cross-cutting
6
7
The Washington Post: Why the “War on Women” Failed in 2014 (November 26, 2014)
Slate: Soccer Mom Nonsense (October 12, 1996)
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cleavage. Republicans have, since 2008, had greater electoral success at the
national level with white and married women. In 2012, Mitt Romney lost the
women’s vote overall 44 to 55%, but won among white women (56 – 42%) and
married women (53 – 46%)8. This suggests that while economic concerns or
health care are important race and socioeconomic status exert a strong influence
on which of the parties and politicians women are likely to perceive as best
representing them on these issues.
In the most recent midterm elections in 2014, the gender gap supporting
Democrats continued, with women overall supporting Democrats 52 – 48%, a 10
point advantage among women compared to male support for Democrats (42%).
This gap continues, despite evidence that suggests Democrats were not
particularly successful in campaigning on women’s issues.
However, the
successes of Mitt Romney and Republicans in carrying selected racial and
demographic segments of women voters imply that gender is not the strongest
predictor of party affiliation or support, but rather requires consideration of
numerous other factors.
8 Washington
Post: “The GOP’s problem with women voters” (May 29, 2013)
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Works Cited
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, National Archives, Retrieved March 1,
2015, http://www.archives.gov/historicaldocs/document.html?doc=13&title.raw=19th+Amendment+to+the+U.S.+C
onstitution:+Women's+Right+to+Vote
Gender Differences and Voter Turnout. (2005). Center for Women and Politics,
Rutgers University. Retrieved from:
http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/research/topics/documents/genderdiff.pdf
Newport, Frank. (June 12, 2009). Women More Likely to Be Democrats,
Regardless of Age. Gallup Polling. Retrieved from:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/120839/women-likely-democrats-regardlessage.aspx
National Organization for Women. (n.d.) Issues, retrieved from:
http://now.org/issues/
Democrats on Women’s Issues. (n.d.) Printable Fact Sheet, retrieved from:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/uploads.democrats.org/Persons/Featured_Medi
a/CE_womens_caucus.pdf
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Page, Susan. (April 2, 2012). Swing States Poll: A shift by women puts Obama
in the lead. USA Today. Retrieved from:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-04-01/swingstates-poll/53930684/1
McTague, John and Deckman, Melissa. (November 26, 2014). Why the ‘War on
Women’ failed. The Washington Post. Retrieved from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/11/26/whythe-war-on-women-failed-in-2014/
Weisberg, Jacob. (October 12, 1996). Soccer Mom Nonsense. Slate.
Retrieved from:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/strange_bedfellow/1996/1
0/soccer_mom_nonsense.html
Rubin, Jennifer. (May 29, 2013). The GOP’s problem with women voters. The
Washington Post. Retrieved from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/05/29/the-gopsproblem-with-women-voters/
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Online Resources
The National Organization for Women
http://now.org
Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University
http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu
Gallup Polling
http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx
The Democratic Party
http://www.democrats.org
The Republican Party
https://www.gop.com
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