Democratic backsliding threatens women’s rights and protections and often mobilizes feminist activists in opposition. However, we know little about gender’s influence in broader public opinion on backsliding policies. Existing research suggests conflicting intuitions: women typically hold more liberal-democratic values than men but are also more politically disengaged and averse to confrontations on contentious issues. Integrating both perspectives, I argue that women are less supportive of anti-democratic policies than men but their expressed objection hinges on partisan cross-pressures. Analyzing surveys from backsliding episodes in Poland, Israel, and the US, I show that women who voted for the government are less approving of its anti-democratic policies than male co-partisans, yet avoid the issue rather than voice discontent against party lines. Conversely, opposition-voting women, whose gender and partisan interests align, voice clear objection like co-partisan men. The findings outline gender’s conditional influence on democratic resilience and underscores avoidance as a coping tactic.