Full Breakdown
Sexism Outweighs Gender in Shaping Voter Preferences, Systematic Review Finds
6/9/2026, 7:58:03 PM
Study Overview: Linking Sexism to Political Behavior
A systematic review published in *Public Opinion Quarterly* examined 97 peer-reviewed studies to assess how sexist attitudes predict political attitudes and voting choices. Conducted by Michal Gulczynski, a PhD researcher at the European University Institute, the analysis identified hostile, benevolent, and modern sexism as distinct constructs and evaluated their association with support for candidates, parties, and policies.
Context: Post-2016 Election Surge in Research
Interest in the political impact of sexism intensified after the 2016 United States presidential election, which prompted numerous surveys—including the European Social Survey—on gender prejudice. Gulczynski noted that the influx of studies created a fragmented literature lacking consistent measurement, motivating a comprehensive synthesis.
Scope and Sample
- Geographic focus: 75 of the 97 studies examined American voters; 39 centered on the 2016 election. International work comprised three studies from New Zealand, two each from Australia, Canada, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
- Sexism measures: Hostile sexism appeared in 61 publications, while benevolent and modern sexism were also frequently assessed.
- Methodology: Only quantitative, survey-based research was included, ensuring comparability of effect sizes across studies.
Core Findings: How Different Sexist Attitudes Influence Politics
- Hostile and modern sexism strongly predict support for Donald Trump and opposition to Hillary Clinton, as well as backing for far-right parties in Europe.
- These attitudes also correlate with opposition to abortion, climate-change mitigation policies, and negative views of immigrants.
- Benevolent sexism is a robust predictor of anti-abortion sentiment, reflecting an idealization of women as self-sacrificing mothers. Unlike hostile sexism, benevolent sexism does not consistently reduce support for female candidates; in some cases, attacks on women politicians increase their favorability among benevolent sexists.
- Overall, sexism—particularly hostile and modern forms—emerges as a statistically significant predictor of political preferences, often exceeding the predictive power of a voter’s own gender.
Official Summary of the Review
Gulczynski emphasizes that the review demonstrates sexism’s substantive role in shaping electoral outcomes and policy attitudes, while cautioning that most evidence is correlational. He calls for updated measurement tools, broader demographic representation, and cross-cultural research to clarify causal pathways.
Criticism, Limitations, and Gaps
- Causality: The studies cannot definitively prove that sexist attitudes cause voting behavior, only that they co-occur.
- Measurement inconsistency: Diverse operationalizations of sexism hinder direct comparison across research.
- Demographic narrowness: The sample is heavily U.S.-centric, with limited data on age, social class, or rural-urban differences.
- Neglected domains: Almost no work examines sexism toward men or its political relevance, despite the author’s identification of only two such papers.
Verbatim Quotes
- “My personal motivation was to understand well the literature in a new field that I wanted to enter,” — Michal Gulczynski, PhD researcher, European University Institute
- “It is vital to understand that scholars have a much more nuanced understanding of ‘sexism’ than what is typically used in everyday language,” — Michal Gulczynski
- “The most important takeaway is that sexism is a statistically significant and substantially relevant predictor of political preferences and behavior, often proving to be a stronger predictor of voting patterns and attitudes than a person’s own gender,” — Michal Gulczynski
- “Sexism is often a stronger predictor of political preferences than gender itself,” — Michal Gulczynski
- “In my opinion, the review highlights the need to update the approaches to studying and measuring sexism, as the main measures were developed nearly 30 years ago,” — Michal Gulczynski
Future Directions
The author proposes expanding research beyond the United States, modernizing sexism scales, and investigating how sexist attitudes toward men influence political polarization, military obligations, and inter-gender conflict.
