An Empirical Analysis of the Gender Gap in News Consumption

Abstract

Survey results reveal that women consume less news than men. This article empirically analyzes this gender gap and explores several explanations. In the United States, the gender gap cannot be explained by differences in education, income, and other socio-demographics or by differences in preferences and job benefits of news consumption. However, the dual burden of paid and household work appears to be one of the drivers of the gender gap. In a cross-country comparison, the gender gap is linked to measures of gender equality in the economy and in politics.