The Political World: Voting, Tolerance, and Civility - How Men And Women Vote

Party Identification Between the Sexes

The panel shows the results of a study of political-party affiliation by the National Election Services at the University of Michigan. Figures include those leaning toward a particular party. The graphic charts the change in party affiliation for the sexes from 1952-2000. Why has this happened?

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, more men identified themselves as Democrats. But the panel shows that, with time passing, an increasing number of men saw themselves as more conservative and voted Republican. These years featured the rise of Corporate America, where men were under pressure to be "company men" — that is, to be conservative and to fit in. Sloan Wilson's 1956 novel The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, ad-dresses the conflict of men trying to balance personal and work lives and to fit in with this new culture. The protagonist, Tom Rath, as he climbs the corporate ladder, notes this: "I really don't know what I was looking for when I got back from the war, but it seemed as though all I could see was a lot of bright young men in grey flannel suits rushing around New York in a frantic parade to nowhere. They seemed to me to be pursuing neither ideals nor happiness — they were pursuing a routine. For a long while I thought I was on the sidelines watching the parade, and it was quite a shock to glance down and see that I too was wearing a grey flannel suit." Union members, who traditionally vote Democratic, were growing fewer in number as well. Membership hit 30.4% of the American workforce in 1963 and has been declining since (it currently stands at 13.5%). In presidential elections, the share of men voting Democratic fell steadily: 61% in 1964, 53% in 1968, 49% in 1972, and 46% in 1984. More men either voted Republican or saw themselves as wild cards — Independents.

Women frequently vote Democratic or Independent. Perhaps women embrace the social issues championed by these parties, such as health care, social spending, and higher wages achieved by government intervention. Women Democrats wielded considerable power in 1964 and have been the leading segment of the voting population, according to the survey. Indeed, the female population in general has surpassed the male population, with 108 million over the age of 18 in the year 2000, compared to 100 million men.

Interestingly, both sexes were more inclined to vote Democratic in nonpresidential elections, perhaps suggesting our wish for balance: a bigger, more liberal local government and a smaller, conservative federal one. A Republican president may get a Democratic Congress.

Every analysis of elections brings up the issue of the gender gap. Included in the blizzard of voter surveys that are conducted during these periods, are those that show that men and women often agree more than they don't. One recent ABC News Poll shows that the sexes differ on some issues such as gun control and gay rights, but the gap on other issues is quite small.

There has been, on average, a 14 point-gap between the male and female vote over recent elections. Is it just a handful of issues that sway how the sexes vote? Do women prefer bigger government, as some have argued, because it offers social programs they prefer? Is it perhaps related to the fact that men are less likely to vote Democratic? Will the fact that more women are registered and voting (and make up more of the population) balance this trend?

Source: "The NES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior." Online. Available: http://www.www.umich.edu. April 4, 2002; Daniel Merkle, "The Gender Gap's Back." Online. Available: http://abcnews.go.com; "Union Trends and Data." Online. Available: http://www.laborresearch.org;. April 26, 2002. The quote from The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit was included in Robert A. Brawer's Fictions of Business: Insights on Management from Great Literature.