We examine the role of ‘gendered opportunities’ for political participation by analysing original survey data covering nine European countries alongside relevant macro-level factors. We hypothesize that gender interacts differently with certain features of the broader context – here, government spending on public services – across various modes of participation, leading to ‘gendered opportunities’ for political engagement. By analysing data for three different modes of participation, namely voting, protest and consumerist participation, we show that the political context provides ‘gendered opportunities’ for political participation and that the gender gap is not homogeneously distributed across modes but varies depending on the repertoire. Our findings clearly highlight how the relationship between gender and the broader context for political participation is a complex one, suggesting that further work must consider the macro–micro linkages leading to differential gender inequalities in political participation.