Print

CHAPTER 1 The Gender Gap throughout History On October 21, 2012, about two weeks before the 2012 presidential election, political predictions expert Nate Silver wrote in his blog, FiveThirtyEight, “If only men voted, Mr. Obama would be biding his time until a crushing defeat at the hands of Mitt Romney, who might win by a similar margin to the one Ronald Reagan realized over Jimmy Carter in 1980.”1 Silver went on to correctly predict the largest gender gap in history, with women deciding the election for Obama. If more men than women had voted in 2012, Mr. Romney would have become President Romney. However, as with every election since 1980, that was not the case. Nearly 10 million more women than men voted in 2012, and they overwhelmingly supported Obama. The 2012 election serves as a prime example of the power of women voters, and that power has only grown over the last three decades. The so-called women’s vote and gender gap have been frequent topics of discussion for media, political pundits, and candidates since the 1980 presidential election. The gender gap refers to the differences in the num- ber of women and men who support a candidate or political party. The 1980 election between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter was notable because it marked the beginning of the modern gender gap in vote choice and party affiliation. The gender gap in 1980 was eight points, with 54 percent of men and only 46 percent of women voting for Reagan. While some gender differences in vote choice and policy preferences existed prior to 1980, this election marked the emergence of a clear and consist- ent gender gap with women tending to prefer the Democratic candidate. The gender gap is more than an interesting topic of discussion for media and pundits it has a significant effect on election outcomes. Women vote in higher numbers and proportions than men, and in many recent