Women generally vote for more left-wing parties and men for more conservative parties. This is what political scientists Jessica Fortin-Rittberger from the University of Salzburg and Sylvia Kritzinger from the University of Vienna say. They referred, among other things, to data from SORA (now the Foresight Institute).
In the last National Council elections in 2019, more women voted for the Greens (17 versus 10 percent) and fewer for the FPÖ (11 versus 21 percent) compared to men. The NEOS were also more popular among them (eleven versus five percent). However, this gender difference did not exist for all parties in 2019. There was hardly any difference with the ÖVP and no difference at all with the SPÖ.
Women vote less often for Trump or AfD
Overall, women are less likely to vote for populist, radical right parties than men, says political scientist Jessica Fortin-Rittberger. This is also visible internationally, for example among Donald Trump’s voters in the US or among the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Women would reward parties that take up issues that are important to them, such as childcare or measures against violence against women. Possible explanations for the difference in voting behavior are that female workers are less likely to work in jobs affected by globalization and that women pay less attention to economic positions when voting than men.
Radicals are already courting more and more women
Some radical right parties have now realized that they do not appeal to women and are now trying to woo them strategically. An example is the prominent placement of their peers on electoral lists. According to political scientist Sylvia Kritizinger, the FPÖ can now score more and more points with women, for example through its issues.
Overall, according to her, socio-demographic factors such as gender and age hardly explain the voting behavior of the population anymore. The attitude towards certain topics and the emotionality with which they are treated, but also the ideological position of the voters play a role. In the upcoming National Council elections, there will likely be “a small gap, but that is probably less important in explaining voting behavior than other issues.”
Source: Krone
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