Here's what's driving the Gen Z gender gap

Editor's note: This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th.

Brenna Vandergeest was a teenager when her grandmother told her about Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court case that ended the federal right to an abortion. She said it lit a fire in her, one that has shaped her politics. 

“I think that really flipped a switch in my head because knowing as a woman that rights that had been protected for years and years have now been overturned — it really made me upset,” Vandergeest said. “It really drove my view on reproductive rights because I do believe that only a woman should have a say over her body, and it shouldn’t be up to the government.” 

Now a senior at Neumann University, a small private Catholic school in Pennsylvania, the 21-year-old said she would describe herself as a progressive liberal with Democrat-leaning views who is most passionate about reproductive rights, healthcare and how the government responds to addiction and recovery.

Every generation has an ideological gender gap — and Gen Z is no different. A new poll from The 19th and YouGov sheds light on how young men and women are shaped by certain historical moments and tend to diverge on issues of gender and reproductive rights. Gen Z women are more likely than Gen Z men to consider themselves feminist, identify as liberal and Democrat, support abortion access, and believe society should not return to traditional gender norms, according to the new poll. 

The 19th/YouGov poll was conducted online from Sept. 18-24 among 2,357 adults, including an oversampling of 18- to 29-year-olds. The margin of error for the overall sample is ±2.5 points.

Gen Z women are more likely to say they’re Democrats, 37% to 21% of men. Among Gen Z men, about 38% are Republican and 27% political independents. For Gen Z women, 29% are Republicans and 21% are independents. 

The poll also found that 38% of Gen Z women and 28% of Gen Z men describe themselves as liberal; 26% of Gen Z women and 34% of Gen Z men identify as conservative.

Claire Gothreau, an assistant professor of political science at Lebanon Valley College, said the ideological gender gap is not unique to Gen Z. Women have tended to identify as more liberal and Democratic than men for decades, and a greater proportion of women than men have voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 1980, she said. 

“What does appear especially interesting about Gen Z is the combination of ideology, gender identity, feminism and political participation,” Gothreau said. “Young women have come of age politically during a period in which issues related to gender and reproductive rights have been really prominent. The #MeToo movement, the first Trump presidency and the Dobbs decision all occurred during the formative political years of Gen Z women.” 

The #MeToo movement, founded in 2006 by activist Tarana Burke, brought a reckoning for powerful men at its public peak in 2017 and 2018. The movement led to changes in laws and policies to address abuse, but it also drew a cultural backlash that contributed to President Donald Trump’s second term. The president, who has been accused by dozens of women of sexual misconduct, was found liable of sexual abuse in May 2023. 

Supporting reproductive rights

While the majority of Gen Zers say abortion should be always or mostly legal, women were more likely to say so than men, 69% to 51%. Almost half of men versus 31% of women say it should be mostly or always illegal.

Paige McCord-Hyman, a 20-year-old junior at Neumann University, said she identifies as a Democrat with progressive views. The issue she’s most passionate about is also reproductive rights. When Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, McCord-Hyman said her mother was experiencing pregnancy complications at the time, taking a toll on her mom and the rest of the family. 

“It’s not that every woman should get an abortion,” McCord-Hyman said. “Whatever your religious views are, whatever your moral views are — that’s perfectly fine. But I feel like the Dobbs decision was taking away the choice. It wasn’t even in the cards anymore, and I feel like that’s not something that a man should have any say over. And even taking gender out of it, nobody should have a say in what I choose to do with my body.” 

A return to traditional roles

According to the poll, 43% of Gen Z women and 51% of Gen Z men think society would benefit from a return to traditional gender roles.

Roy Dawes, an associate professor of political science at Gettysburg College, said that while young women have been quickly adopting anti-patriarchal attitudes, some young men have started to feel alienated. And these men are finding community online, he added.

“Young men are desiring a return to more traditional roles,” Dawes said. “Social media algorithms exacerbate this by segregating young men and women, with young men highly susceptible to online influencers with anti-feminist and often misogynistic messages.” 

Dawes also pointed out that young women are outpacing their men counterparts in academic and professional achievement, which also contributes to Gen Z men’s feeling of social and economic stagnation. 

“These factors have combined to have an impact on the context of the heterosexual dating world with an increase in remaining single and a decrease in more traditional marriage and reproductive patterns,” Dawes said. 

Tyler Daniel, a visiting assistant professor of political science at Roanoke College, said social media, algorithms and YouTube specifically have created deeply divided political echo chambers for Gen Z, the generation that grew up on the Internet. 

“It would be an oversimplification to say that social media algorithms are the sole driving force behind the gender divide, but they present a fascinating first look into how cultural narratives shaped by social media are significantly impacting the generation aptly understood to be the social media generation,” Daniel said. 

A backlash to feminism

When it comes to feminism, 49% of Gen Z women and 20% of Gen Z men consider themselves feminists, the poll found.

Vandergeest, who considers herself a feminist, said she notices a lot of toxic masculinity on social media in particular. The men in her classes at her university are typically more respectful in person, she said. 

“But I have seen a lot online that males are looking for more of a traditional view of a woman, meaning a housewife with no job, no college — just bear the kids and make dinner,” Vandergeest said. 

Vandergeest said she thinks this desire is just a modern backlash to feminism. 

“I think that men think that feminism is something that they should be threatened by, but it’s not,” Vandergeest said. “Feminism is something where we just want to be equal. It was never that we wanted to be better than the men. We want to have the same rights, and I think that scares people and causes them to be more hateful, have more traditional views and have that incel look on women.” 

In her book, “The Politics of Gen Z,” political scientist Melissa Deckman found that young women are more likely to identify as feminists. They are also more likely to participate in politics — voting, protesting, organizing and donating, according to Deckman. 

Vandergeest said women in her generation are driven by the desire for equality, from the Civil Rights Movement to women’s rights and reproductive rights, and they are starting to pay attention thanks to the plethora of information available on social media. 

“I think going down the line we need more people, especially women, to be in politics,” Vandergeest said. “So I do plan to run once I graduate for some political position, and I think that others should follow in our footsteps. I think our generation needs to be the stepping stone for the generations under us. They need to see what it’s really like to have rights and fight for them.”