Affective polarization between (young) women and men

This paper starts from the observation that gender gaps in issue positions and ideological positions are larger among younger as compared to older women and men. Against this backdrop, can we observe gendered affective polarization between (young) women and men? Preliminary analysis of data from the Comparative Inclusive Politics Study (CIPS), show that young women exhibit substantial affective polarization in their feelings towards their gender ingroup (i.e., other women) compared to their feelings towards their gender out-group (i.e., men). This is particularly true for women who place themselves on the left politically, and exploratory analyses suggest that misperceptions of men’s attitudes towards climate policy and gender equality contribute to affective polarization among young women.