Manuel Neumann
The Gender Gap in Everyday Political Talk: The Result of Social and Economic Status, Opportunities, or Parental Socialization?

116th APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition, (virtual conference), September 10th to September 13th, 2020

For deliberative democracy to produce ideal policy output, political discussions must be accessible for all citizens alike. While it is already known that women tend to participate less in formal political discussion forums, I focus on the core of citizens' political talk and ask: Is there a gender gap in everyday political talk? Where there is one, is it due to factors of socioeconomics, opportunity, or parental socialization? I use individual-level data from a unique survey focusing on citizens' deliberation. My results reveal a substantive gender gap that does not disappear when alternative explanatory factors are taken into account. Additionally, the positive effect of having experienced political talk by parents in respondents' youth is weaker for women than it is for men.