Joint GESIS/MZES Public Lecture: The Gender Gap in Political Knowledge Revisited: Australia’s Julia Gillard as a Natural Experiment

Note long: 
Joint event with GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences
Time: 
09.10.2018 - 15:30 to 17:30
Location : 
A 5,6 Raum A 231
Type of Event : 
MZES Public Lecture
Lecturer: 
Prof. Ian McAllister, Ph.D.
Lecturer affiliation: 
Australian National University
Description: 

This Public Lecture is a joint event with GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences.

Surveys have found a persistent gender gap in political knowledge, with women knowing less about politics than men. This article tests the explanations for the gap using surveys collected in Australia between 2001 and 2016. The results show that the gender gap in knowledge was stable between 2001 and 2007, but declined significantly in 2010, returning to trend in 2013 and 2016. The decline in 2010 is largely accounted for by the election of Australia’s first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, which resulted in women displaying greater media attentiveness. The results confirm other research suggesting that enhanced descriptive representation of women may help to close the gender gap in political knowledge.

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