Date of Award

5-2006

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Program

Political Science

Department

Political Science

Major Professor

Day, Christine

Second Advisor

Howell, Susan

Abstract

The gender gap is a political phenomenon that has been observed in the electorate since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, with women being more Democratic and liberal than men. Many studies have examined its existence among the white public, but little has been done to document its presence among blacks. This study examines the gender gap among whites and blacks and compares the results in order to see if there is a gender gap that exists among blacks and if it is similar to that for whites. Bivariate and multivariate analyses conducted for both blacks and whites find that the documented gender gap among whites is more pervasive than that for blacks, largely because blacks are more united in their Democratic partisanship and liberal attitudes. However, there are also significant gender differences among blacks that usually are similar to and at times different from those among whites.

Rights

The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.

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