Social change and women’s left vote. The role of employment, education, and marriage in the gender vote gap

Summary

The “modern” gender vote gap – where women are generally more supportive of left parties than men – is established in many Western democracies. Whilst it is linked to societal changes, and in particular the transformation of gender roles and relations, scholars still grapple with its underlying mechanisms. This paper tests one mechanism currently untested in existing accounts: that women’s specific experiences in less traditional social statuses – in employment, education, or out of marriage – drive their support for the left. Analyses using German, Swiss, and English panel data do show differences in left party support between men and women, and amongst women, according to these social statuses. However, we do not find evidence that these occur because of these experiences directly. Rather, our findings indicate that left-leaning women self-select into certain life trajectories. This suggests that women’s shifting political views due to societal change have corresponding changes in individual life choices.