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Left Behind? Gender Gaps in Political Engagement Over the Life Course in Twenty-Seven European Countries
- Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society
- Oxford University Press
- Volume 25, Number 2, Summer 2018
- pp. 254-286
- Article
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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.