Gender and Political Participation: News Consumption, Political Efficacy and Interpersonal Communication

Abstract

With the backdrop of women's political progress in recent decades, this study was designed to answer two related questions. First, is there a gender gap in political participation among young males and females with similar educational background and equal access to political news and information? Second, how do factors such as news consumption, political efficacy, and political discussion interact with the relationship between gender and political participation? Through a survey of university students in Singapore, this study showed that females were less politically knowledgeable, less politically efficacious, and less likely to engage in political discussion and in offline and online political activities than males. Results further showed that females depended on political efficacy and discussion, whereas males were more likely to be motivated by political efficacy in their political participation. News consumption on the new and social media platforms also appeared to contribute to political participation for both males and females. Implications of this study were discussed.

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