Explaining Gender Differences in Political Tolerance

• In Event: The Political Psychology of Gender

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the gender gap in political tolerance and support for free expression. To do so, we use large probability samples of the American public. Consistent with past research, we find that women are significantly less likely to endorse freedom of expression. Although previous patterns of tolerance for Democrats versus Republicans, or old people versus young people, have changed dramatically, gender predicts in the same direction that it has for many decades. We leverage both experimental and panel data to test a variety of hypotheses about what might account for this difference, including:
H1: Does women’s greater aversion to conflict explain why they do not support the free
expression of controversial views to the same extent as men?
H2: Does men’s greater belief in the value of markets in general spill over into greater support
for a marketplace of ideas, and thus greater political tolerance than women?
H3: Are women less tolerant than men because they are less likely to believe in a functioning marketplace of ideas?
H4: Does women’s well-known dislike of competition relative to men help explain their lack of
support for political tolerance?
H5: Are women more sensitive to the incivility of political discourse, and therefore more likely to dislike the idea of groups airing unpopular and potentially offensive views?
After exploring potential explanations for persistent gender differences in political tolerance, we turn to a discussion of the downstream consequences of these differences for women in politics.

Authors

• Lauren Palladino, University of Pennsylvania

• Diana C. Mutz, University of Pennsylvania