Gender in the Aggregate, Gender in the Individual, Gender and Political Action

Citizenship beyond politics: the importance of political, civil and social rights and responsibilities among women and men1

“…These studies have often found that women are less participatory (e.g., Burns, Schlozman and Verba 1997, 2001; but see also a review by Burns 2007). Some recent research suggests for voting, the gender gap may now be non‐existent (Parry, Moyser and Day 1992; Seltzer, Newman and Leighton 1997), though small, persistent gaps are found in other forms like attending political party meetings, with women less participatory even when considering a variety of controls for the respondent's demographic and attitudinal characteristics (Norris 2002; Burns 2007). Regardless, none of these studies examines differences in the level of importance men and women assign to political rights and responsibilities.…”

“…Previous studies revealed that socially and politically disadvantaged groups (e.g., racial minorities and women) have less trust in institutions and are perceived as being more easily taken advantage of (Abramson 1983; Banducci, Donovan and Karp 1999; Chanley, Rudolph and Rahn 2000; Rosenthal 1995). Such differences may undergird women's lower levels of political participation, since political efficacy and trust correlates with civic engagement, membership and political participation (Burns 2007; Lovenduski 2005; Putnam 2000; Verba, Burns and Schlozman 1997). The higher the institutional trust citizens have, the stronger their social and political involvement (Dalton 2006; DiFrancesco and Gielman 1984; Putnam 1995; Howard and Gilbert 2008).…”

“…Today, Western industrialized democracies have made great strides in promoting women and men's formal equality as citizens. Women's representation in parliaments has roughly doubled since 1970, and although early research suggested women were less participatory in politics, more recent research shows little difference in terms of voting and other formal activities (Paxton, Kunovich and Hughes 2007; Burns 2007; Norris 2002). In the USA and Great Britain there is even evidence that women vote more than men (Parry, Moyser and Day 1992).…”

“…In general, de jure equality is quite different than de facto equality when it comes to men and women's citizenship, measured along a variety of dimensions (Harrison and Munn 2007; O'Connor, Orloff, and Shaver 1999; Lister 1995, 2003) and women continue to have less social, political and civil power. Moreover, gender differences continue to exist in a number of areas such as contacting public officials, and discussing politics (Huckfeld and Sprague 1995; Verba, Schlozman, and Brady 1995; Verba, Burns, and Schlozman 1997), and studies indicate that while gender gaps in some forms of participation are not large, they are persistent (Burns 2007; Parry, Moyser and Day 1992; Norris 2002). Research explaining this gap has pointed out that women are disadvantaged in resources that facilitate political activity.…”

“…Research explaining this gap has pointed out that women are disadvantaged in resources that facilitate political activity. Namely, women and men have quite different demands on their time, both in terms of carework and employment, women and men are socialized to behave differently, and women still face a variety of forms of discrimination which may discourage or block their equal engagement as citizens (Burns 2007; Lister et al. 2007; Lovenduski 2005; Schlozman, Burns and Verba 1994).…”