gender gap

noun

1. the differences between women and men, especially as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes.

gender gap

1. A phrase marking the trend in recent U.S. presidential elections, whereby more female than male voters support the Democratic party candidate and more male than female voters support the Republican party candidate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gender gap¹

First recorded in 1980–85

Idioms and Phrases

A broad difference between men and women, as in There is still an enormous gender gap in the wages of unskilled labor . This expression at first referred to the difference between men and women in voting preferences. It has since been extended to other areas. [1970s]

Example Sentences

In the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Gender Gap Index, which measures gender parity across economic opportunities, education, health and political leadership in 146 countries, South Korea is ranked 105th.

From Los Angeles Times

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trump prevailed despite a significant gender gap between female and male voters, with Trump’s opponents expressing deep distress over his victory while his supporters publicly gloated about those same people's pain.

From Salon

Just as months of relentless polling showed Harris in a virtual tie with Donald Trump, many of those same surveys told the story of a yawning gender gap.

From BBC

Much is being made of the gender gap this year between Latina women — 60% supported Harris, according to the CNN exit poll — and Latino men, only 38% of whom backed the Democratic nominee.

From Los Angeles Times

The result is a nauseating gender gap in exit polling, showing a majority of women in every age group voted for Kamala Harris, yet the vice president could not crack 50% even with the youngest group of men.

From Salon