As the presidential election campaign enters its final months, the race is a toss-up.Average votes: 538One group of voters, Gen Z, More enthusiastic After Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee.
The Harris campaign is calling this year’s Democratic National Convention “Influencer Convention“We will provide content creators with space typically reserved for traditional media and bring in several influencers as convention speakers, adding a new layer of appeal to the event.”
While conventional wisdom holds that Harris should benefit from increased youth voter turnout, the widening gender gap among Gen Z voters makes the influence of young voters uncertain and raises important questions about why young voters, once considered more liberal than previous generations of voters, are becoming more polarized by gender. The values and attitudes that underlie this widening gender gap may be particularly problematic for Harris and other female political leaders in the future.
Research suggests that the youngest voters have been shaped by the events of their lifetimes, having grown up during a time of social, economic and political upheaval: a global pandemic, the rise of social media, the #MeToo movement, growing awareness of climate change and the presidency of President Trump are just some of the events that have shaped their worldview.
Polling data consistently shows that Gen Zers are responding to these events differently. Pew Research Center surveyYoung women of Gen Z are significantly more likely to identify as Democrats than their male counterparts.
This is in stark contrast to older generations, where the gender gap was much smaller. Additionally, Gen Z women tend to prioritize issues like healthcare, climate change, and racial equality, while young men tend to place more importance on economic issues and government spending.
Men and women of Gen Z are also divided on issues related to equality and the role of government in enforcing it, with a YouGov poll conducted in July showing wide gaps on issues such as affirmative action and whether men are discriminated against in society.
These findings are the study They argue that there are significant differences between men and women of Gen Z when it comes to gender roles in politics. At a baseline level, young women are twice as likely as young men to believe that discrimination is an obstacle to women being elected to high office. This difference is even more pronounced for older generations.
When asked whether men or women make better political leaders, Gen Z men were significantly more likely to say men make better political leaders than men of other generations, including Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation. Finally, the most important reason Gen Z men said they don’t want to see women in high-level public office is because “women aren’t tough enough.” Gen Z men cited this reason more often than men of other generations.
Our research raises the question of why Gen Z men are so different from Gen Z women and men in other cohorts. Gen Z men and women have similar life events and educational experiences, but they have different attitudes about gender roles. While our research is still preliminary, we believe the media habits of Gen Z men and women may help explain misogyny among some men.
Men in this cohort tend to prefer Reddit, Discord, and Barstool Sports, while women tend to prefer TikTok and Facebook. While these services contain a wide range of messages, the media and programming preferred by men tends to promote very traditional gender role attitudes. Social Media AlgorithmsThis means that one click on a gender-based post leads to more similar posts being shown, creating an echo chamber where extreme views are normalized.
Political socialization researchers say Political scientist Gary Jacobson They argue that “generational imprinting” – the idea that each generation is socialized into a set of political beliefs that lasts for decades – could have both short-term and long-term implications if Gen Z men and women become more divided over whether women should be in political leadership.
In the short term, rising enthusiasm among young voters in 2024 may not be as beneficial for Harris as many think. A Survey USA poll from early August showed Donald Trump leading Harris among Gen Z voters, with a majority of men supporting Trump and a majority of women supporting Harris.
Gender disparities on many of the nation’s most pressing issues also raise questions about the future of gender politics in the U.S. As young women continue to demand greater representation and policy changes on issues that disproportionately affect them, they may face growing backlash from some young men. This could make gender an increasingly contentious dividing line and further polarize the political environment.
David B. McLennan is a professor of political science at Meredith College and director of the Meredith Poll. Whitney Ross Manzo is an associate professor of political science at Meredith College and associate director of the Meredith Poll.
