It is now commonly accepted that designing political arrangements involving the main antagonists to the conflict is the most viable approach to resolving inter-communal division in post-conflict societies. This consociational approach to conflict resolution has become the dominant model in ethnically divided societies. Yet, as a number of commentators note, women are often ill-served by such peace settlements. This is particularly the case in post-conflict societies marked by long-standing ethnonational antagonisms, where issues surrounding gender equality are often sacrificed in an effort to resolve the national identity question. Northern Ireland is no exception to this trend. Although the most recent peace settlement – the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement – did make specific provision for gender equality and rights to non-discrimination, it was primarily framed in terms of national identity. To what extent, has this exclusive focus on inter-communal ethnic division within an increasingly pillarised political environment undermined support for the Agreement among women? It is with this question in mind that this paper focuses on gender differences in attitudes towards the peace settlement in Northern Ireland. Using data from the 2010 Northern Ireland Election Survey, we examine gender differences both in relation to the principles of the Agreement as well as its systems of governance.
