Different and Unequal? Gendered Political Participation in European Democracies

Men’s overrepresentation in formal politics has declined over the past few decades, but gendered political power inequalities are pernicious. Frequently, scholars and pundits have pointed to women’s lower levels of political activity as an explanation. Such a narrative, however, ignores the ways that political activity itself has been defined to privilege men and masculine ways of engaging, overlooking the possibility that women participate differently (see e.g. Coffé and Bolzendahl 2010). Using longitudinal data (2002-2020) from the European Social Survey across 26 democratic nations, we investigate differences in women’s and men’s levels and types of political engagement. In addition to understanding how women and men may engage differently on average, we examine how gender differences in socio-economic resources and political attitudes help us understand gender gaps and how these resources and attitudes shape women’s and men’s participation differently. This approach recognises that the processes contributing to the creation of “gender” (i.e., differing meanings assigned to men and women’s position in society and exposure to socialization pressures) may lead to the same socio-economic resources and political attitudes producing different outcomes for women and men. Analysing these gender interactions will also enable us to identify intersectional dynamics among women and men. Preliminary analyses indicate that women and men continue to engage differently, highlighting the need for comprehensive approaches when studying gender and political participation. Women are more inclined to engage in ‘private’ activism (e.g. signing petitions or boycotting) while men are more likely to be involved in activist and collective types of actions such as demonstrations and party activities. Major cleavages among women and men support the value of intersectional analyses, namely, measures of class, ethnicity, and family structure shape gendered participation in complex ways. Furthermore, while we find little change over time, significant cross-national differences in the magnitude of the gender gaps and intersecting inequalities occur.