The gender gap is only one of many “gaps” in voting behavior, and far from the largest. In recent decades, men and women have indeed voted differently, with women trending Democratic and men trending Republican. But in many cases, the apparent gap between men and women is within the margin of sampling error.
Consider a few other gaps that might better be described as chasms. In the recent Pew survey, the gap between African-Americans and whites who support Obama is 55 points. The gap between secular voters and white evangelicals is 50 points.
Of course, women’s preferences for party and candidate are important. But Republicans can win and have won the White House without winning a majority of the women’s vote. Republicans should make the effort to win more female votes, but they should take cues from what women voters – not feminist activists – say matters most in the election.
Amy E. Black is associate professor of political science and chair of the department of politics and international relations at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.
