Anna Sanders
Title: The impact of gendered policies on women's voting behaviour: An analysis of the 2015 UK General Election
PhD summary
Gendered voting patterns have been the subject of interest in both academic and party literature. In particular, understanding women’s voting intentions is crucial in close elections. Firstly, women are more likely to decide their vote closer to election day, and are more inclined towards swing voting. Secondly, women’s votes are of increased importance simply because there are more of them: currently, women comprise 52 per cent of the British electorate.
This research aims to extend the analysis of gendered policies on women’s voting behaviour by investigating the link between policy action and voting intention. It seeks to explore the link between the awareness of ‘detrimental’ policies (for instance fiscal retrenchment, increasing childcare ratios and aspects of pension reform) and voting behaviour. Moreover, it aims to discover the extent to which we can see ‘pocketbook voting’ (voting based on economic self-interest) in light of the gendered effects of austerity measures.
Dates
September 2016 - September 2019
Funding
ESRC
Institution name
The University of Manchester
Supervisors
- Prof Francesca Gains, The University of Manchester
- Dr Maria Sobolewska, The University of Manchester
Discipline area
Politics
Short biography
Prior to doctoral study, Anna gained a BA in Politics from Queen Mary, University of London in 2015. Following her BA, she completed an MA in Political Science at The University of Manchester. Her research focuses on public policy, psephology and gender.