Sexism and the Gender Gap in Support for the Radical Right

Abstract

Using survey data from Spain we show that the gender gap in the probability of voting for the radical-right party Vox is mainly due to men having higher levels of modern sexism than women. We find inconsistent evidence that differences previously highlighted in the literature may account for a minor portion of the gap. However, results using different decomposition and mediation analysis methods confirm the central role of gender differences regarding sexist attitudes in explaining men’s higher propensity to vote for the radical right. The article highlights the importance of considering gender-related attitudes when analyzing the gendered pattern of electoral support for the radical right.