On the 13th of September this year, me and millions of other Swedes will step into the voting booth to cast our votes in the national election. The people in the booths will constitute a diverse gathering of people of different ages, opinions and backstories. Despite this diverse crowd, however, it is possible to accurately predict which political side each person will vote for by using a single metric: Their Gender.
During the last ten years, it has become increasingly obvious that there is a wedge growing between the male and female populations. Men are moving further and further to the right, while women are moving further and further to the left. This trend is ongoing both in Sweden, and abroad. For instance, only 24 % of the young men in Sweden identify as left-wing. Moreover, the most popular party among young men is Sverigedemokraterna, whereas the most popular for young women is Socialdemokraterna, two parties belonging to diametrically opposing blocs. But why is this the case? And what implications will it have for our society?
The first question is seemingly hard to answer, with no existing consensus between researchers as to the reason for this sudden shift. However, there are some theories that might help us answer this question. One reason could be that women tend to have a higher education, which has a positive correlation with supporting more liberal policies. Rossie Campbell, professor of politics at King’s College London, has another theory, claiming that an increase in hostility towards the feminist movement by men might be a reason. Female emancipation and the feminist movement has, according to Campbell, changed the view of masculinity, resulting in many men feeling a sense of disillusionment in relation to their role as men. This has also been exacerbated by social media where certain influencers advocate for hypermasculinity and blame the feminist movement for the disillusionment some men feel.
What might the implications and consequences of this widening gap between women and men be? One obvious problem is that a widening political gap risks aggravating political polarisation between women and men, leading to a feeling of animosity among men and women. Another potential problem, pointed out by researchers, is that this development might lead to “identity voting”, where people vote in accordance to their group identity, women voting like women and men like men, instead of voting in accordance with their own beliefs.
