Written by
Curtis Matwychuk-Goodman
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“Women now stand on the threshold of achieving more political power than they have ever had before. A possible dream can become real if women translate their beliefs and votes into an organized electoral and political force”
Bella Abzug 1984, page 11
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his paper will first define gender and what a gender gap is. It will introduce relevant evidence of the existence of a gender gap in Canadian public opinion in addition to identifying a number of areas of both convergence and divergence of public opinion when gender is considered. Furthermore, this paper will provide an update on recent developments in the study of gender and public opinion by identifying and explaining the findings of relevant literature. Finally, this paper will discuss the importance of understanding gender as it applies to the Canadian political system in terms of the three elements of political culture: ideology, policy, and practice.
This paper will find that the way women live their lives today is different than twenty-five years ago. This would imply that a meaningful difference may have arisen in women’s public opinion over this same time period. However, there is little evidence suggesting a predictable and stable gender gap on particular issues of public opinion in Canada over time. Although there have been instances of a gender gap existing, like in the 1988 Free Trade Election and the 1993 and 1997 federal elections. The most concerning gap that does exist in Canada is the underrepresentation of women in the federal government. This has implications for issues of equality and there should be a significant consideration of all political parties operating within Canada. View Full Article »