gender gap

American

noun

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

gender gap Cultural

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.

gender gap Idioms

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]

Etymology

Origin of gender gap

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The gender gap is wider in influential positions, such as economics department chairs and the editorial board members of economics journals.

From Salon

Evie and its contemporaries stepped in to fill the gender gap.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yvette Becker from FNV union says a four‑day working week can help close the gender gap.

From BBC

As a result, the widening gender gap will shrink Gen Z’s dating pool, increasing singlehood.

From The Wall Street Journal

“She has totals of what the gender gap is and what the double tax is, and it’s written up like a receipt. This book really addresses the double tax in a way that, even if you have no insight or it’s something that you haven’t thought about — or you are someone who hasn’t experienced this — it’s laying it out economically in a way that is really accessible and has a lot of impact.”

From Los Angeles Times

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