The term gender gap was first used in the mid 1980s by feminist Eleonor Smeal in relation to the political sphere and to highlight the difference between women’s and men’s vote.
Currently, this refers to a broader concept. It consists of an analytical framework that sheds light on the difference within a specific variable related to rates for men and women. The idea of gender gap underscores the inequalities between men and women in different spheres.
It is commonly used, for example, to talk about the digital gender gap, gender wage gap, or the social gender gap, among others.