Are women more or less likely to vote than men? Evidence from rural Bangladesh

Abstract

The established notion that men and women vote differently is well-documented, yet it remains unclear whether women are less likely to vote than men or, potentially, the reverse. Evidence on this topic is particularly scarce in Global South contexts. This paper addresses this gap by examining gender differences in voting behavior within rural Bangladesh. It also investigates the factors motivating women’s electoral participation, offering insights into the underlying reasons for any observed gender disparities. Rural Bangladesh remains understudied with regard to gendered electoral participation, despite significant structural transformations in its economy that may have reshaped gender dynamics across economic, social, and political spheres. Given its potential relevance as a model for similar contexts, this research provides a timely exploration of electoral gender dynamics in a setting of democratic fragility. Using nationally (rurally) representative Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) data and employing logit, Poisson, and propensity score matching models, the findings reveal a counterintuitive trend: women are more likely to vote than men and this is observed regardless of whether individuals are formal-educated or have never pursued formal education, and this trend is also more pronounced among younger cohorts. Additionally, married women exhibit a higher likelihood of voting, while formally educated women are less likely to participate. We contextualize these results within rural Bangladesh and propose several hypotheses to explain the observed gender differences in voting behavior.