Features of women’s electoral behavior. Research

Studies of political behavior in different countries show that the gender gap in voting behavior can often reach numbers that have a significant impact on election results. For example, the experience of some countries shows that women are more inclined to sympathize with left-wing parties than men. Research also reveals that in countries with strong women’s movement traditions, consolidated positions are formed around specific issues that concern women (issue voting).

In Armenia, the political forces have never expressed consolidated positions on women’s interests and rights, therefore, unified political preferences have not been formed by women voters. However, in Armenia there are certain differences between women and men in the attitude towards the priorities of the political agenda, as well as in the indicators of participation in national and local level elections. It is documented in “Features of women’s electoral behavior in 2021 in the elections of the National Assembly and local self-government bodies” research data.

The research was carried out within the framework of the “Elections for All 2021 – Local Observation and Citizen Empowerment by Civil Society” program, which is aimed at improving the democratic process of Armenia by promoting systematic control and monitoring of civil society organizations in 2021. in conducting inclusive, gender sensitive, transparent, free and fair elections at the national and local levels.

The research was conducted in Armenia in 2021 after the extraordinary parliamentary elections, as well as in 2021 throughout the local government elections held in the fall and highlights the features of women’s and men’s electoral behavior typical of the political situation and the observed period, and also shows the dynamics of electoral behavior compared to the previous elections held in 2018.

The object of study was the electoral behavior of women, which they demonstrate during the exercise of active suffrage. Electoral behavior was considered not only as the participation of women voters in voting, but also as their attitudes towards electoral processes, including election campaigning, their electoral preferences and motivations, as well as their expectations of women candidates.

The data of the research document that the classic gender differences in terms of voter participation established by international practice are also visible in Armenia, and in both national and local level elections. In addition, certain characteristics are observed in the behavior of women voters in terms of motivation, electoral preferences and expectations.

The number of female voters in the province is greater than the number of male voters, along with that there are certain differences in their participation rates. In particular, in 2021 in the parliamentary elections, women voters participated in voting more actively than men, the difference in the proportion of women and men among those who voted reached almost 10 percentage points, and women were more active in the capital than in the provinces. The revealed difference fits within the framework of the pattern recorded in European countries, according to which the difference between the participation of women and men in the national level elections is either almost not observed, or women show more active participation.

Significant differences were recorded in terms of voter turnout in different age groups. in particular, voters aged 50-65 took part in voting more actively (participation up to 90%), and the activity of women in that age group was higher than that of men, the difference reaches 11 percentage points. In other age groups, the difference in activity between men and women was not so significant.

Along with the low turnout of voters in local government elections, women voters showed more passive behavior than men. The participation of women was 8 percentage points lower than that of men, while the activity among female voters in the National Assembly elections, on the contrary, was higher than that of men by about 4 percentage points. The difference found is consistent with the pattern reported in other countries, according to which women’s turnout in local elections is generally lower than that of men, and the main reason for this, international experts see, is that second-level elections are not usually valued by women voters.

Differences in the electoral behavior of women and men appear at the level of preferences, expressing their perceptions of socio-political values ​​and development priorities of the country or community. Although in international practice the gender divide in terms of preferences can play a decisive role in terms of influencing the results of elections, the experience of Armenia shows that there are differences between the preferences of female and male voters in these matters, but either they do not reach significant dimensions, or they have a significant impact. have no effect on election results.

Cases of directed voting by women voters are considered a serious limitation of women’s electoral behavior, hindering women’s ability to express their free will and make informed choices. Cases of so-called “family voting” are also confirmed by local observers.

The participants of the focus groups, evaluating the impact of the transition to the proportional electoral system in local government elections on the motivation and participation of voters, including women voters, stated that only the form of the elections has changed, but the content and the principle and motivations for voting have remained the same. In essence, although partially, the old mechanisms of participation worked, when the main motivation for voting was either nepotism, the “obligation” to support familiar-friendly candidates, or the election of individuals, while the new mechanisms, in which one or another political force and its ideology are emphasized or supporting the program, have not yet been formed.

in 2021 the agenda for the early parliamentary elections was determined by the heavy losses of the war and the resulting over-strained political situation. It was very different from all previous elections, which was reflected in the results of pre-election polls.

The full study can be found here.