Female Status and the “Gender Gap” in U.S. Homicide Victimization

This study investigates the relationship of female status with the homicide “gender gap” (relative risk of victimization) across U.S. central cities. The research is patterned after Gartner, Baker, and Pampel's (1990) cross-national study, which found that female status explains some variance in the gender gap, especially in societies with a combination of low degrees of female educational attainment and occupation of nontraditional roles. Results from analyses of U.S. cities do not find an effect of various indicators of female status on the gender gap, despite considerable variation in both dependent and explanatory variables. Possible explanations for these results are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.