Gender Gap

GAINING FULL CITIZENSHIP with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in August 1920, 26 million women voted in that year's presidential election. Although women had gained the right to vote, the majority of these new women voters simply followed the views and votes of the men in their lives. Over the next six decades, women voted at lower rates than men did in presidential elections, and gender differences in candidate support were rare. Only two presidential candidates, Republicans Herbert Hoover, in 1928, and Dwight [Page 278]Eisenhower, in 1952 and 1956, received greater support from women than did their Democratic opponents. Beginning with the 1980 presidential election, political scientists observed consistent gender differences in support for presidential candidates. This consistent difference, known as the gender gap, is typically reported as the difference between the percent of support the winning candidate receives from women and men.

When the gender gap was first discussed, political commentators attributed women's lower levels of support for Republican Ronald Reagan in the 1980 contest to his rugged image. In the 1984 presidential election, researchers concluded that women's support for the Democratic challenger, Walter Mondale, was buoyed by his selection of Geraldine Ferraro as the first female vice presidential candidate from a major party. However, the gender gap persisted and reached its peak with the presidential elections of 1996 and 2000, when women expressed clear preferences for the Democratic candidates, Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

Beyond candidate preferences in presidential elections, political scientists have observed the existence of a gender gap in sub-presidential elections, as well as in policy preferences. According to the Center for American Woman and Politics, female voters made the difference in the 2006 midterm elections, with a gender gap evident in 10 Senate races. Exit polling data further revealed a gender gap in House races, with 55 percent of women, as compared to 50 percent of men, indicating support for Democratic candidates. Researchers also suggests the existence of a gender gap on public policy issues, including the use of military force, a woman's right to choose, and funding for social programs, particularly those providing access to healthcare.