GENDER AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION - IS THERE A DIFFERENT VOICE

Theory: Gender differences are considered in relation to citizen parti cipation, an aspect of politics subject to more speculation than data when it comes to what Carol Gilligan so aptly termed ''a different voi ce.'' Hypotheses: Male and female activists specialize in different fo rms of activity, derive different gratifications from taking part, and bring different policy concerns to their participation. Methods: Tabu lar and logit analysis of survey data from the Citizen Participation S tudy. Results: We find, overall, more similarity than difference betwe en women and men. Gender differences are not necessarily what we might have expected. Although women are slightly less active than men, ther e is substantial similarity in the overall pattern of the participator y acts they undertake. With respect to the gratifications attendant to participation, women and men are similar in terms of how they recalle d the reasons for their activity. Men and women address similar issues ; when it comes to the content of participation, however, men and wome n do speak with different voices, with educational issues and abortion weighing especially heavily in the policy agendas of female activists .