Gender, perceived discrimination, and support for the Left in Western Europe

Abstract

Over recent decades, women in Western Europe have become more likely than men to support left-wing parties, leading to what the literature identifies as the “modern gender gap”. Existing research generally explains this shift as the result of structural and cultural transformations that have affected advanced democracies since the second half of the twentieth century. Building on a longstanding tradition in political and social sciences that emphasizes the role of social identities in shaping political attitudes and behaviour, this study argues that identity may help explain when and why the modern gender gap becomes politically consequential. In particular, we draw on a well-established literature showing that political choices are not driven solely by structural conditions, but also by individuals’ identification with social groups and by how they perceive the social position of those groups. Against this background, we argue that gender might become politically relevant when women’s structural position is subjectively recognized as one marked by disadvantage and discrimination. We therefore hypothesize that the modern gender gap should be amplified among women who perceive themselves as discriminated on the basis of gender. To test this argument, we analyse 15 Western European countries using individuallevel data from the European Social Survey (ESS) over the last decade (2014-2024). The results show a consistent modern gender gap across countries and a clear moderating effect of perceived gender discrimination: women who perceive themselves as discriminated based on gender are more likely to vote for left-wing parties.