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Is There a Gender Gap in the Sense of Duty to Vote?

Author

Listed:
  • Carol Galais

    (Departament de Ciència Política i Dret Públic, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain)

  • André Blais

    (Département de Science Politique, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Lionel-Groulx local C4040, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada)

Abstract

The topic of gender differences in the propensity to vote has been a central theme in political behavior studies for more than seventy years. When trying to explain why the turnout gender gap has shrunk over the last few decades, some scholars have claimed that this might be due to the fact that women are more dutiful than men; however, no study to date has systematically addressed gender differences regarding the sense of civic duty to vote. The present research focused on such differences and empirically tested the role of political interest and moral predispositions on this gender gap. We explored duty levels in nine different Western countries and, most of the time, we found small but significant gender differences in favor of men. Our estimations suggest that this relationship can be explained mainly by the simple fact that women are less interested in politics than men.

Suggested Citation

  • Carol Galais & André Blais, 2019. "Is There a Gender Gap in the Sense of Duty to Vote?," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-15, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:9:y:2019:i:4:p:78-:d:287446
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Derek Dalton & Marc Ortegren, 2011. "Gender Differences in Ethics Research: The Importance of Controlling for the Social Desirability Response Bias," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(1), pages 73-93, September.
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    3. Russell J. Dalton, 2008. "Citizenship Norms and the Expansion of Political Participation," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56(1), pages 76-98, March.
    4. Patrick Emmenegger & Philip Manow, 2014. "Religion and the Gender Vote Gap," Politics & Society, , vol. 42(2), pages 166-193, June.
    5. Peter Thisted Dinesen & Asbjørn Sonne Nørgaard & Robert Klemmensen, 2014. "The Civic Personality: Personality and Democratic Citizenship," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 62, pages 134-152, April.
    6. Desposato, Scott & Norrander, Barbara, 2009. "The Gender Gap in Latin America: Contextual and Individual Influences on Gender and Political Participation," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(1), pages 141-162, January.
    7. Gerber, Alan S. & Gruber, Jonathan & Hungerman, Daniel M., 2016. "Does Church Attendance Cause People to Vote? Using Blue Laws’ Repeal to Estimate the Effect of Religiosity on Voter Turnout," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(3), pages 481-500, July.
    8. Russell J. Dalton, 2008. "Citizenship Norms and the Expansion of Political Participation," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56, pages 76-98, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rosa Roig & Cristina Aybar & Jose M. Pavía, 2020. "Gender Inequalities and Social Sustainability. Can Modernization Diminish the Gender Gap in Political Knowledge?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, April.

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