Latino Gender Differences in Public Opinion: Results from the Latino National Political Survey

Abstract

The objective of this article is to determine whether there exists a Latino gender gap in public opinion. The issue areas selected for this study represent areas likely to reveal a gender gap if the phenomenon is present among Latinos in a manner similar to the general public. The areas studied include (a) support for decreased spending on military spending, (b) support for increased social welfare spending, and (c) attitudes toward women 's political and social roles. Some evidence for a Latino gender gap is found, and it runs in a similar direction on some social welfare issues and for women's social and political roles but is not consistent with the literature on violence and force issues. The results presented here are preliminary, however, and much research remains to be done on gender differences in other public opinion issues, as well as political activities and political orientation.