Assistant Professor of Economics Sonia Dalmia--whose research into gender differences in work, education and marriage has gotten international media attention--is now looking into how the sexes vote.
Her newest project is an examination of gender differences in voting behavior of students at Grand Valley State University. Students are encouraged to participate in the study. It is available to students through Blackboard. A link to the survey can be found through the "Announcements" section in Blackboard. The survey will be available through October 27.
The issue of gender differences in voting behavior and policy attitudes has been a recurrent theme in social science literature and political commentary in the United States, Dalmia said. Gender gaps have been observed for example in turnout rates, partisan identification, domestic and foreign policy issues and evaluations of elected officials. While discussions of a gender gap in electoral politics have become commonplace, political activity in 18-24 year olds remains an understudied area. When young voters are mentioned at all, they are often portrayed as disengaged individuals lacking interest in politics and a sense of political efficacy.
Young voters as a potential voting group need to be recognized for their size especially in light of the closeness of the 2000 presidential elections, Dalmia said.
Dalmia hopes to use the survey data to examine how far and why men and women differ in their levels of civic engagement and political preferences. She also hopes to examine political knowledge, participation and attitudes of youth to arrive at a better understanding of the social, economic and demographic structure of political activity in 18-24 year olds.
