Do gender patterns differ between the ethnic majority and Muslim minorities? Intersectional and cumulative effects of multiple identities on political behaviour

Research on gender and political behaviour calls for intersectional approaches to the study of within-gender differences, for instance between men and women of different ethnic groups, including Muslim minorities. Meanwhile, despite the often-gendered public discourse on Muslim minorities in Western societies, much research on Muslim minorities’ political behaviour overlooks potential gender patterns, especially regarding people’s political attitudes. Research may thus miss important variation in understanding different population groups’ political behaviour. Using unique survey data that oversamples Muslim minorities in France, the Netherlands and Germany, we analyse political attitudes and the turnout of men and women of the ethnic majorities and Muslim minorities for intersectional effects between gender and ethnicity. We find small intersectional effects, indicating some differences in how gender affects the ethnic majority and Muslim minorities in their political attitudes and turnout. The study contributes to understanding political behaviour in increasingly diverse Western societies.