A matter of content: Overcoming the gender gap in political knowledge, expression of knowledge, and interest

Abstract

Data systematically depict women as less knowledgeable, interested, and apt to provide a valid answer to questions about politics. These three gaps - the knowledge, the political interest, and the expression of knowledge gap - are related to a discriminatory way of measuring political knowledge and interest, which conceptually juxtaposes the more general concept of knowledge and interest in politics to that of knowing about, or taking an interest in, political institutions. This narrows the measurement to topics that men are more interested in. In this experimental study, the focus is shifted from political institutions to a wider understanding of what can be a political issue. It reveals that women's knowledge disadvantage and hesitancy in answering to knowledge questions, together with men's higher levels of interest, are most likely conditional to this traditional interpretation of the term politics.