Ungrateful Citizens? Women’s Rights Policies in Zapatero’s Spain

Women attracted the lion's share of government initiatives in the area of citizenship rights during the government of Zapatero (2004-8) in Spain. Highlights of these efforts were policies on gender violence and gender equality. We analyse these policies in terms of their scope, people's awareness, implementation and the level of support from other parties in the opposition. We then look for the possible impact of these policies on the gender gap in political interest and voting orientations. We find that equality policies might have motivated some women, former IU voters, to switch their vote for the PSOE.