Immigrant Attitudes Toward Women’s Political Participation in Maryland

Abstract

Acculturation theory states that immigrants usually maintain some beliefs and values from their homeland during their adaptation process in a new country. Based on this theory, it is plausible that immigrants will hold onto the attitudes toward women typical of their home countries when developing their attitudes toward women’s participation in politics in the United States. Few studies have specifically examined attitudes toward women in politics across multiple groups of immigrants. This study investigates how homeland views on gender roles might influence the perceptions immigrants have toward women involved in the political process in the United States. The study used a survey applied to 163 immigrant adults from multiple counties in Maryland. After conducting difference of means tests, single variable linear regressions, and multivariate regressions, this study finds that while homeland gender attitudes had an impact on immigrant attitudes toward women in politics in the US, other demographic variables wield greater influence on these perceptions. Specifically, the study found that gender, political orientation, and age were strong predictors of immigrant attitudes toward women in politics in the United States.