Gender and Generation: Influence on the Political Implication of the Elderly in Spain

Abstract

Spain suffers a demographic ageing process for several decades now, and today it is one of the most aged countries in the world. This process entails changes in the characteristics of different generations, some of which will be especially relevant in the future cohorts that advance into mature age. Specifically, the ageing of the population alters the patterns of political implication. This work analyzes the influence that gender questions and generation may have in the political behavior of the elderly. We present a relational study based on the data provided by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (Center for Sociological Research). Our findings prove that gender and generation introduce important differences in interest as well as in social participation. We also provide conclusions on the importance of belonging to one specific generation with regard to the implication in public affairs, as opposed to frequent considerations that tend to grant more preeminence to age. Similarly, we provide relevant information on the next older generation, who will not only be important in number, but also will conceivably take on a very important main social role.