A Gender Gap in Opinionation in Times of Crises and Political Stability

In the 70s and 80s, a number of analyses of nonresponses in questionnaires was conducted with the assumption that nonresponses carry much important information. The share of expressed nonresponses can be an indicator of apathy, ignorance and lack of information. Studies revealed a higher share of nonresponses being expressed by women in comparison to men. Changing social conditions, such as the period of transition after the change of political system, the emancipation of women and financial and economic crises, can have an impact on the gender inequality expressed in nonresponses. This article will analyse the differences in nonresponse answers between men and women to some socioeconomic questions for three periods: 1) 2000-2003, the period after the transition and before accession to the European Union (EU); 2) 2004-2008, the period after accession to the EU and the presidency of the Council of the EU, as well as a period of economic growth; and 3) 2009-2013, the beginning of economic, financial and political crises in Slovenia. The number of nonresponses between men and women is different in the three observed periods. In opposition to our assumption, the gap was higher in the first two periods and lower in the period of economic, financial and political crises.