TY - JOUR
T1 - The Impact of Gendered Policies on Women’s Voting Behavior
T2 - Evidence from the 2015 British General Election
AU - Sanders, Anna Leslie
PY - 2022/4/24
Y1 - 2022/4/24
N2 - Political parties often seek to appeal to women voters through policy pledges. However, little is known about how – or whether – these policies influence women’s voting behavior. Drawing on focus groups conducted with women voters, I explore how women perceive, experience, and negotiate gendered policies in their voting behavior using the 2015 British General Election as a case study. Overall, I find that “class-based” economic policies pertaining to the sexual division of labor matter to women voters, whereas policies seeking to tackle discrimination against women (“gender status” policies) are comparatively less salient. Crucially, attitudes toward class-based policies differ by life-stage. Taken together, I argue that studies on gender and vote choice should devote greater attention to the electoral context in addition to socioeconomic factors.
AB - Political parties often seek to appeal to women voters through policy pledges. However, little is known about how – or whether – these policies influence women’s voting behavior. Drawing on focus groups conducted with women voters, I explore how women perceive, experience, and negotiate gendered policies in their voting behavior using the 2015 British General Election as a case study. Overall, I find that “class-based” economic policies pertaining to the sexual division of labor matter to women voters, whereas policies seeking to tackle discrimination against women (“gender status” policies) are comparatively less salient. Crucially, attitudes toward class-based policies differ by life-stage. Taken together, I argue that studies on gender and vote choice should devote greater attention to the electoral context in addition to socioeconomic factors.
KW - Voting behaviour
KW - Policy
KW - Britain
KW - Life-stage
KW - Austerity
U2 - 10.1080/1554477X.2022.2068118
DO - 10.1080/1554477X.2022.2068118
M3 - Article
SN - 1554-477X
JO - Journal of Women, Politics and Policy
JF - Journal of Women, Politics and Policy
ER -