Structural gender differences would lead us to believe the political values and behaviour of women and men differ. Women live longer than men, earn less, are less likely to be part of the labour force, and are less likely to be blue-collar workers. Women have primary responsibility for childcare, may be more religious than men, and tend to be part of different networks. Political scientists believe all these factors significantly influence political behaviour, including voting and policy preferences, and many observers assume that profound behavioural and attitudinal differences exist between women and men.

In this lecture, Gill Steel will examine the importance of gender in understanding and explaining voting behaviour in Japan and Britain. Analysing decades of voting preferences, values, and policy data, she will explore the differences in women's and men's voting choices reflecting on why a “gender gap” in vote choice emerged – and varies – in some countries, but not in Japan.

Gill Steel is Professor of Political Science at the Institute for the Liberal Arts, Doshisha University. Her recent work includes What Women Want. Voting Preferences in Japan, Britain, and the United States (2022); editing Beyond the Gender Gap in Japan (2019); co-editing 現代日本社会の権力構造 (2018) with Masahiko Asano; and Power in Contemporary Japan (2016). 

If you have any questions, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1993 or email us at: events@japansociety.org.uk.