Gender Differences in Values and Political Orientations

Using the 4th wave of the World Values Survey data, this paper examines the extent of the gender-gap in social values and political orientations in two non-Western nations, Korea and Japan. The core emphasis of the paper is on whether political socialization and situational hypotheses have reduced gender inequality in some attitudes — values, psychological involvement, political cynicism, elite-challenging activities — that are important for political activity. The findings indicate that both socialization and situational explanations are still relevant in these two Asian nations. Specifically uncovered are: 1) Korean women are less likely to exhibit modern values and political orientations (except for protest) than their Japanese counterparts; 2) regardless of age and education, single Korean women are more likely to possess modern values, whereas single Japanese counterparts are less likely to participate in protest activity than one being married, 3) intra-sex differences in psychological involvement in politics and political cynicism among both women fade when age and education are held constant.