gender gap

noun

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

gender gap

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.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of gender gap¹

First recorded in 1980–85

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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]

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Example Sentences

Well, the pundits were right: the political “gender gap” would decide the fate of candidates in the 2014 midterms.

From The Daily Beast

Two polls, one sponsored by USA Today, the other by Public Policy Polling, showed no gender gap in Kentucky.

From The Daily Beast

Thus, abortion is another gender gap issue where men and the GOP come out second-best.

From The Daily Beast

(Most of the data that follows comes from the 2012 OECD report “Closing the Gender Gap”).

From The Daily Beast

The gender gap debate has taken some surprising turns in recent days.

From The Daily Beast

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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