Possible explanations:
One sex knows something the other sex doesn’t:Perhaps since men are treated as the default gender, women understand what it’s like to be a man better than men understand what it’s like to be a woman.
How to test: Turing test. Create an anonymous panel of 4 male and 1 female economists, and then let a group of males ask them questions. Afterwards, the males vote on which panelist was female. Reverse the test. Whichever sex knows something the other sex doesn’t will do a better job at passing the turning test and a spotting one of their own.
Signalling Women and men are expected to have feminine and masculine traits respectively, and one of the ways they can signal having these traits is by supporting certain politics. For example, a woman might endorse social welfare programs to signal that she has compassion (a feminine trait).
How to test: Not sure.
Brain differences: Women and men have slightly different brains. Perhaps the presence of testosterone in men causes them to support riskier free market policies.
How to test Look at intra-sex differences in brains and see if you find any correlations. If, for example, men with lower levels of testosterone are more likely to support liberal policies, and women with higher testosterone support more libertarian policies, that would be evidence that the intersex differences in testosterone could be responsible for the gap.
Self-interest Bias Perhaps women are better off under liberal policies, while men are better under libertarian. Each group is rationalizing reasons support policies that protect their sex.
How to test: See how each sex reacts to a pair of questions, one specifying a female, and one specifying a male. For example “Should waiters be covered by minimum wage laws” verses “Should waitresses be covered by minimum wage laws.” If one sex gives the same answer for both these questions, and the other sex gives different answers, that is evidence that the second sex is biased.
Differences between libertarian/liberal movements Perhaps the libertarian subculture isn’t welcoming for women. Women become liberals because libertarians creep them out.
How to test Recruit politically inactive women at a local university. Send one group to a libertarian convention, the other to a liberal convention. Ask each about their experiences.
Other explanations/tests?
I’ve been in Alice Springs for a couple of weeks now, and the completion is pretty stiff. None of the bars are hiring, and they prefer locals anyway. Contacted the parks nearby, they’re all full. I did find a job that pays $26/hr (after super), but I’m only getting 20 hours a week. (Plus another 15 minutes of unpaid labor before every shift). There’s a good chance I’ll be fired in a couple weeks too.
And a native Australian told me it’s only going to get worse. The NT winter holidays are about to start, meaning that all the locals in school right now are going to want a job. I’ve noticed more backpackers coming by here too.
Anyone can PM me if they want details.