Explained: Emerging gender-age divide in US politics, with young women far more liberal than men

On political labels

% of women and men identifying as politically liberal across different age groups. (Gallup data)

The Gallup report noted that young men have resisted the liberal label despite becoming more liberal on some issues. More women than men described themselves as liberal or very liberal (40%) in the 2017-24 period than men (25%). Therefore, there may be differences in how men and women want to define their political viewpoints.

“The consolidation of young women’s liberal identity could make them a potent political segment in this year’s election. It makes them an important bloc for Kamala Harris to turn out to vote, and therefore, one Donald Trump can’t completely ignore,” the report added.

Stance on key issues

Shifts in men and women’s stances on political issues over the years. (Gallup data)

Gun control, environmental issues and abortion laws were the top three areas where young women expressed dissatisfaction with the status quo, and where the shifts in their opinions were the greatest in recent years.

These shifts were also consistent across varying education levels and races, meaning gender could be the defining factor shaping their views.

Gallup’s report found that “despite the political salience of these issues for over two decades, only in the past few years has young women’s identification as liberal taken off”. As younger populations have traditionally been less likely to vote, it remains to be seen whether this stronger sense of political identification will translate into increased political engagement.

Although there is no definitive reason given for the divide across gender lines, the report pointed to the “timing relative to real-world events” such as the rolling back of laws regarding abortion protections, the #MeToo movement and Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. These could be “catalysts for turning young women’s underlying liberal tendencies into a greater willingness to wear the label.”

However, there is not enough data to explain why issues like climate crisis or gun control see younger women in particular take a more liberal stance. Further, other data, including from the Financial Times earlier this year, argued that widening gender divides are also being witnessed in countries like Germany, South Korea and Tunisia.

The FT report added that the proliferation of smartphones and social media further means that young men and women now “increasingly inhabit separate spaces and experience separate cultures” that could inform their political ideologies.