The Dynamics of the Partisan Gender Gap

Gender differences in vote choice, opinion, andparty identification have become a common featureof the American political landscape. We examine the nature and causes of gender differencesin partisanship using a time series approach. We show that gender differences are pervasive—– existing outside of the context of specific elections or issues—–and that they are a product of the interaction of societal conditions and politics.We find that from1979 to 2000, the partisan gender gap has grownwhen the political climate moved in a conservative direction, the economy deteriorated, and the percentage of economically vulnerable, single women increased. The gender gap is likely to be a continual feature of the American political landscape: one that shapes everything from elite political behavior to election outcomes. The partisan preferences of men and women haveboth converged and diverged at different timesin history. The late 1970s, for example, saw a period in which men and women shared similar levels of Democratic and Republican partisan support. Since the early 1980s, however, partisan preferences have diverged. The divergences are fundamentally politi-cal, often deciding election outcomes, helping structure policy debates and election campaigns, and also con-tributing to policy outcomes. Each of these may in tur