Does gender make a difference? The gender gap in Latin American politics

Abstract

This chapter offers a quantitative analysis based on data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project from 2012. First, it describes what Latin American women think about women’s participation in politics and how the general population feels about the participation of women. These sections highlight differences between countries. Then, the chapter seeks to explain in which aspects of political culture Latin American women differ (statistically speaking) from men. In particular, it examines whether women are different from men in terms of conventional and non-conventional political participation and also in other aspects such as interest in politics and support for democracy.