Poll finds gender gap in interest for U.S. 250th anniversary events

A national poll of 1,200 registered voters conducted in February by Bowling Green State University and YouGov found a 10-point gender gap in interest for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Sixty percent of women said they were interested, compared with 70 percent of men. Forty-five percent of women said they were likely to participate in an event, versus 54 percent of men.

Participation and emphasis differences Women were also less likely than men to name commemorating the founding fathers as a primary focus, at 14 percent versus 26 percent. Women were more likely to select bringing Americans together across differences, at 48 percent versus 37 percent. The same survey showed these patterns held after controlling for party identification in several areas.

Party-level patterns Among Republicans, the gender gap on favoring a bring-the-people-together focus reached 19 points, with 52 percent of Republican women selecting it compared with 33 percent of Republican men. Republican men were more likely than Republican women to strongly agree that events should be mostly celebratory, at 60 percent versus just under 50 percent.

On whether founding principles still provide a strong foundation for solving today's challenges, 59 percent of Republican men strongly agreed compared with 46 percent of Republican women. Among Democrats, gender differences on these items were statistically insignificant.

One question showed a different pattern: women overall were more likely than men to disagree that the Declaration's principles of fairness, justice and equality remain true today, at 42 percent versus 32 percent, and the gap persisted among Democrats but not Republicans.