Left Behind? Gender Gaps in Political Engagement Over the Life Course in Twenty-Seven European Countries

Abstract This article investigates gender differences in political involvement in twenty-seven countries across four life course stages: home-leaving, partnership formation, parenthood, and empty nest. Single country studies show that these life events can hamper women’s political engagement, but wh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social politics 2018-06, Vol.25 (2), p.254-286
Main Authors: Quaranta, Mario, Dotti Sani, Giulia M
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Abstract This article investigates gender differences in political involvement in twenty-seven countries across four life course stages: home-leaving, partnership formation, parenthood, and empty nest. Single country studies show that these life events can hamper women’s political engagement, but whether this finding holds cross-nationally remains unclear. Using European Social Survey data, we show that across countries “family intensive” life course stages have a stronger negative effect on women’s involvement than men’s, but more on political interest, party identification and activity, than voting or demonstrating. Further, women’s macro-level political representation only partially accounts for cross-national differences in life cycle effects on political involvement.
ISSN:1072-4745
1468-2893
DOI:10.1093/sp/jxy005