ABSTRACT
Women typically know less about politics than men. 2 This gender gap in political knowledge cannot be explained by differences in educational attainment or material resources, or by the greater demands that child-care responsibilities continue to make on many women's time. Most importantly for our purposes, this knowledge gap cannot be explained by any differences in the amount of social capital accumulated by women and men. As such, it demands a critical reappraisal of Robert Putnam's argument that “social capital allows political information to spread.” 3 If women accumulate as much social capital as men, women should be just as knowledgeable as men about politics.
