In the United States, men have frequently been found to have more punitive views than women toward crime and punishment. It was unclear, however, whether a similar gender gap would be found among citizens of other nations, especially non-Western nations, such as China. Using survey data from 524 college students from a single university in China, the independent t test reveals significant gender differences on only 3 of 16 measures. The gender gap remains small in multivariate analysis, even after controlling for other demographic characteristics. Gender socialization in a patriarchal society, collectivism, and the political system in China are possible explanations for the small size of the gender gap.
