Are Latinas More 'Dovish' Than Latinos? Evidence from the 2006 Latino National Survey

Public opinion research reveals that women tend to be more 'dovish' than men when it comes to certain foreign policy issues. However, much of our knowledge of the gender gap in foreign policy attitudes is based on data taken from whites and therefore it us unclear whether these results can be generalized to other populations such as Latinos. This paper extends research on the foreign policy gender gap to Latinos using data from the 2006 Latino National Survey. Specifically, we analyze Latino and Latina attitudes on a question asking whether the U.S. should keep military troops in Iraq as long as it takes to stabilize their government. The date reveals a gender gap on this policy issue, with men (both native and foreign born) being more supportive in keeping U.S. troops in Iraq than women (both native and foreign born). In addition, gender differences are larger among native born Latinos, while foreign born Latino men are more supportive than native born Latina women. The paper employs multivariate analysis to explore whether gender differences persist even after controlling for variety of predictors as well as the sources of those differences. We conclude by considering the theoretical and policy implications of our findings