The Growing Gender Gap and What It Means for America

The gender gap in American voters is a growing issue that has become more relevant during the last decade, and it could be a major factor in shaping this election. A recent New York Times/Siena poll suggests likely male voters favor Donald Trump by 11 points, while women prefer Kamala Harris by 15. But where the difference really widens is between young adults. Harvard Institute of Politics’ most recent poll estimates that among likely female voters under 30, Harris leads Trump in a two-way matchup by 31 points and, among young men, by 11. However, the gap is not only relevant to elections.

Nearly 40% of young women now identify as liberal, according to polling firm Gallup, and 87% have views closer to the left than the right. Just 25% of men from the same age group identify as liberal, but they are more evenly split between leaning to the right or left. Men haven’t changed their political beliefs much over the years and still tend to be more conservative. The gender gap is likely to continue growing, too, potentially making the political strife between man and woman.

The Gender Gap

The number of women identifying as liberal has been gradually growing since the 1980s, but it was around the turn of the century that the shift accelerated – especially among women under 30. Then the trend seemed to really gain traction following Hilary Clinton’s loss in the 2016 presidential election. Colleges, too, have probably helped young adults cultivate liberal attitudes. “As women entered the workplace and attended university in higher numbers, the foundations of their political engagement began to shift,” wrote Zack Beauchamp in an article for Vox. “The more that women started to believe feminist ideas about equality, the more attracted they became to left-wing parties that held equality as a fundamental value.”

Another theory is that young women have been affected by influencers with extreme political views. The chief data reporter for the Financial Times, John Burn-Murdoch, thinks the #MeToo movement may be partly responsible for the gender gap. Perhaps author Rob Henderson has the most interesting theory – what he calls the gender-equality paradox – which can be summed up by saying that the wealthier and more equal the country, the larger the gender differences.

In sum, “Treating men and women the same makes them different,” said the psychologist Steve Stewart-Williams to The Times of London, “and treating them differently makes them the same.”

This paradox seems far-fetched yet simple enough to be completely possible. Still, it would be remiss not to consider other possibilities. Structural and cultural factors are likely the driving forces, but those words are too broad. It’s like blaming the ocean for a shipwreck.

Takeaways:

1. There’s a gap between men and women – especially young men and women – in political views.
2. Men tend to be more conservative while women tend to be more liberal.
3. The gender gap seems to be growing.