Chapter 4
POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
AND PUBLIC OPINION
Behavioral Focus: Explanations for the Gender
Gap
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Introduction
• To understand the relationship between gender
and politics, we must explore the socio-political
constraints which limit women’s role in politics.
• Gender gap: the aggregate differences between
men and women who aspire to hold public office.
• Differences in political socialization
• Biological differences
• Institutional explanations
• Salience Hypothesis: men and women place
different levels of importance on specific policy
issues
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Social Explanations of the Gender
Gap
• Lawless and Fox (“Entering the Arena?
Gender and the Decision to Run for
Office”):
• Examine why women who “share the same
personal credentials and professional
characteristics as men” are less ambitious to
run for public office.
• Data from the Citizens Political Ambition Study
used to conduct an elite survey of 1,969 men
and 1,796 women to further research as to
why there is a gender gap.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Social Explanations of the
Gender Gap
• Lawless & Fox conclude “that women are less
likely than men to receive a political source’s
encouragement to run for office and to
consider themselves qualified despite having
even greater ‘paper merits’ than their male
counterparts.”
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Social Explanations of the Gender
Gap
• To understand “where the women are
not,” we need to understand the
importance of “perceived” roles of men
and women in American political society.
• In effect, women “self assess” that they
are not qualified to run
• suggests cultural and socialization factors,
explain the gender gap and the lower numbers
of women who aspire to attain public office.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Social Explanations of the Gender
Gap
• According to Lawless and Fox, the following
cultural constraints placed on women may explain
why women are less likely to run for public office:
• less likely to talk politics with their parents
than men.
• less likely to be unmarried than men
• seen as more apt to be responsible for
childcare
• less likely to be encouraged by their parents
for a career in politics.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Social Explanations of the
Gender Gap
• Cultural constraints:
• Women professionals identify a male culture
(“masculine ethos”) which is inherently biased
and does not encourage women to run for
public office.
• hold themselves to a higher standard than men
when determining if they decide to run for
office.
• less likely to think they will win if they run for
public office.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Social Explanations of the Gender
Gap
• Matland (“Women’s Representation in National
Legislatures: Developed and Developing
Countries”):
• supports Lawless and Fox’s findings through research of
developing countries and former communist countries.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Social Explanations of the
Gender Gap
• Matland concludes that men are socialized in most
cultures to view politics as a “legitimate sphere” in
which to participate
• self-perpetuated; leads to greater political
efficacy, increased “political knowledge,” and
political experience for men
• conversely, women internalize that they are less
efficacious and thus do not aspire to run for
public office.
• countries with single-member congressional
districts are more likely to have male candidates
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Institutional Explanations of the
Gender Gap
• Structural impediments have limited women’s
accessibility to participate in politics and attain
public office.
• Gendered structure of society
• perpetuates women’s roles as caregivers which limits the
role of women in American politics (e.g., Catherine
MacKinnon and Susan Moller Okin).
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Institutional Explanations of the
Gender Gap
• Gendered structure of society
• Okin’s critique follows radical feminist
tradition—American society formed according
to a male perspective, gender seen as a
socially constructed concept.
• Thus, men occupy positions of power and are
paid more than women
• Locus of control has always been dominated by
men, to perpetuate male power and delineate
women’s role as subservient to the system.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Institutional Explanations of the
Gender Gap
• Incumbency factor also excludes women
from obtaining public office.
• Average House retention: 90%; average Senate
retention: 80%
• Limits the chances of women to be recruited and
advance a successful campaign in single-member
congressional districts.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Institutional Explanations of the
Gender Gap
• Other institutional factors that impede women from
serving in Congress:
• Women face more difficult primary competitions as
incumbents, as challengers, and as candidates in
congressional open seats
• Incumbent women attract greater number of women
challengers.
• Female Republican candidates are more likely to gain
their party’s nomination in primary elections, in
governing these women tend to continue conservative
traditional policy making which is male-centered.
• Women still face an uphill battle in elections in which
they challenge an incumbent male.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Gender Differences Regarding
Salient Political Issues
• To understand the effects of gender in political
science, women studies scholars have suggested
that there are differences between men and
women regarding “salient” election issues.
• In effect, one needs to explore the gender gap
between men and women based upon
partisanship and issue priorities within the
American electorate.
• However, the impetus for the gender gap in
American politics is debatable.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Gender Differences Regarding
Salient Political Issues
• Kaufmann and Petrocik (“The Changing Politics of
American Men: Understanding the Sources of the
Gender Gap”):
• The gender gap occurred due to the LBJ’s
support for expanded governmental welfare
programs in the 1964 presidential election.
• Subsequently, the salient issues of “guns
versus butter” prompted more conservative,
Southern, male voters to support the
Republican Party’s pro-defense platform of
Barry Goldwater.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Gender Differences Regarding
Salient Political Issues
• Frankovic (“Sex and Politics: New
Alignments, Old Issues”) disputes the
findings of Kaufmann and Petrocik:
• Argues that younger women (ages 18-24)
increasingly supported expanding social
programs
• Were therefore more likely to support
Democratic Party candidates beginning in the
1980 election as a result of Reagan’s
prioritization of foreign policy issues
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Gender Differences Regarding
Salient Political Issues
• With the advent of the gender gap, men and
women have different attitudes regarding salient
policy issues.
• In general, men are more likely to promote
conservative issues (e.g., defense and economic
issues) as candidates and support these issues as
voters
• In general, women are more likely to support
candidates who favor increased domestic
spending on education, environmental, and social
programs.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Gender Differences Regarding
Salient Political Issues
• Data from GSS and NES support the hypothesis
that the following affect ideological and political
party identification:
•
•
•
•
•
Age
Marital status
Religiosity
Socio-economic status
Geographical location
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Gender Differences Regarding
Salient Political Issues
• For example:
• Younger, urban, and/or liberal women tend to
support the Democratic Party in higher numbers
whereas older, rural, and/or conservative women
tend to be Republicans.
• Also, there is a marriage gap: Single women are
less likely to vote and more liberal as well as
Democratic than married women who are more
likely to vote, be conservative, and identify with
the Republican Party.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Gender Differences Regarding
Salient Political Issues
• For example (continued):
• Women with higher educations, higher
incomes, and/or exhibiting greater
religiosity tend to be more conservative
and hence, more Republican in their
alignment.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis