The gender gap in political engagement is well documented (e.g., Burns et al. 2001; Fraile 2014; Fraile & Gomez 2017; Inglehart & Norris 2003). While some of the differences in levels of political engagement between women and men is attributed to gendered socialization in childhood and adolescence, mounting evidence points to increased divergence in political engagement between men and women during marriage and parenthood (Garcia-Albacete 2014; Rotolo 2000). Little is known about the factors that contribute to this divergence or about the policies that can help ameliorate it. In this paper we explore the extent to which family policies aimed at work-family reconciliation can help close the gender gap in politics. We expect family policies, such as childcare provisions and parental leave allowances, to influence the material and time resources available to women to engage in politics. Further, female labour market participation fostered by these policies should lead to a heightened sense of social inclusion and internal efficacy that is associated with political engagement. We also expect generous family benefits to boost the external efficacy of women by signaling a strong government commitment and responsiveness to women and families (Shore 2016). We test these expectations with survey data from the European Social Survey and time-series cross-national data on family policy.
