Much has been said about how young voters will affect this election but little has been heard about the gender factor — yet there are nearly 2,800 more female Bermudian voters than male voters according to 2000 census figures.

And while the Parliamentary Registry doesn't have a breakdown of the sexes for this election, its head Randy Scott said few families moved and census data remained useful as a yardstick with women still definitely in the majority.

There are some sharp discrepancies in the gender balance in individual seats according to those statistics — in marginal Warwick, women outnumber men significantly in each constituency.

In knife-edge Warwick North East, which could well be the key to taking Government on election night, women outnumber men by 135 in a seat which the PLP held by just 38 votes.

Polls have recently shown women are less pro-PLP than men.

A Research Innovations poll done by PLP candidate Walton Brown in November indicated the gender gap was evident in party preferences with 51.2 percent of men backing the PLP compared to 36.9 percent for the UBP and 11.9 percent not saying.

Meanwhile 41 percent of women back the UBP compared to 37.6 percent backing the PLP and 18.5 percent not saying.

While a more recent independent poll for The Royal Gazette showed both genders backing the Government, women were still less likely to be supportive than men.

Government MP Dale Butler is up against a female candidate in Gina Spence-Farmer in Warwick North East but isn't concerned.

He said: "They say they love me. I am not worried about it."

However, he believes the UBP chose a women candidate to try to pick up a lot of female support.

"Most of the time when I canvass the person at home is a woman. They express their support for me. The issues that are raised are the same for men and women — housing, crime and education.

"I have not heard anyone say upward mobility is limited for women in Bermuda or there's a glass ceiling. But I have heard one or two women expressing concerns that child care costs have increased."

Concerns over high quality care were one of the reasons why Government is committed to developing another child care centre at Loughlands, said Mr. Butler but he could not say how many places would be available for the wider community.

He said both men and women wanted politicians who could do the job. But his opponent in Warwick North West, Gina Spence-Farmer, believes female solidarity is paying dividends on the doorstep.

"It's been a huge help," she said. "Women are automatically drawn to one another, we understand each other's issues, whether it is parenting or being wives or working professionally.

"There are certain things they would not necessarily approach a man about."

She agreed women were the ones who mostly answered the door during canvassing and she added crime was the big concern.

"That directly affects women with break-ins and the like — obviously if it's a woman versus a man, women are not as strong," she said.

One disaffected PLP voter in her 50s said the gender dynamics were important within homes as the woman was often most influential in how the family votes.

She said: "You have these men who have irritated the women. Let me tell you what's wrong with race baiting and ethnic baiting."

She said the PLP's policy of cracking down on home ownership for mixed Bermudian/foreign couples ignored the fact it was increasingly prevalent.

"And you have a lot of interracial marriages," she added.

"You can go ahead and play to all the insecurities of black men you want but, at the end of the day when it is getting down to the election, the wives are crossing their legs and saying 'if you go there and see Brown come back in, you will see how the next five years are going to be like in this house'.

"I am serious, that's the reality of it. If my husband goes and votes for Ewart Brown, he's in serious trouble for the next five years."

One PLP supporter in her 30s, believes gender dynamics play out within the parties.

Forecasting Dr. Brown's days in leadership are nearly at an end whatever the result on Tuesday night, she said: "I think it's obvious he only wants to be surrounded by men. I think he must be sexist.

"But look at Paula Cox — she's there because she is dynamic. To me her intellect supercedes her gender."

A disaffected UBP source, who is male, said: "In the absence of a good and meaningful candidate, women will vote UBP. But if they have a choice of a role model candidate, they are unlikely to abandon it just to vote UBP."