The split between men and women is one of the starkest divisions in American politics right now — and that divide is deepest in Gen Z, which is taking the traditional gender gap in American politics and stretching it even further.
New data from the NBC News Stay Tuned Poll, powered by SurveyMonkey, shows that debates over President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, immigration and the state of the country drive the most division between Gen Z men and women. But it’s not just pure politics propelling the pronounced gender gap. Big divides exist on policy issues like abortion and broader value questions, too.
In large part, the driver is Gen Z women, who are more likely to identify as Democrats and take the liberal position in questions across the poll when compared to other generations or the U.S. population as a whole. And the effects of that dramatic split could define American politics for decades if it continues.
Take Trump’s approval rating. Among all adults, 45% say they approve of Trump’s job performance and 55% disapprove. Adults between the ages of 18 and 29 grade the president worse than that: 34% approve, 66% disapprove.
But the difference between young men and women is significant. While 45% of young men approve of Trump’s job performance, only 24% of young women do — a 21-point difference.
Gender gaps mark every generation, but they aren’t as stark elsewhere. There’s only a 7-point gap on Trump’s approval rating between men and women 65 years and older; a 13-point gap among those between the ages of 45 and 64; and a 9-point gap among the 30-44-year-olds.
The survey’s large sample includes 2,230 respondents ages 18-29, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points among that cohort.
There’s a similar, extra-wide gap between Gen Z men and women on their views on Trump’s handling of immigration, as well as on their views of billionaire White House adviser Musk.
Musk is viewed favorably by 41% of all adults and unfavorably by 59%. But while Gen Z men are about in line with the national population, with 43% viewing him favorably, just 20% of Gen Z women view Musk favorably.
The negative views of Trump and Musk underscore how Democratic-leaning younger women are compared to younger men. What’s more, young women are more likely to align with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
A slight majority of Gen Z women (52%) say they consider themselves to be Democrats — the largest concentration of any age and gender group within one political party. Among Gen Z men, one-third say they are Democrats.
Meanwhile, 38% of Gen Z men identify as Republican, compared to 20% of Gen Z women. The partisan gender gap is wider among Gen Z than in any other generation.
Gen Z women are also more pessimistic about the direction of the country. Forty percent of all adults say America is on the right track, right in line with the 37% of men between the ages of 18-29 who agree. But just 20% of Gen Z women feel the same.
Gen Z also divided on cultural issues
The stark political divide between Gen Z men and women comes alongside other notable splits, from how this generation consumes news and information to how it is processing a slew of cultural issues differently than older generations.
Around a third of young men (37%) say they are “extremely proud” to be an American — double the share of young women who say the same. And a higher share of young women (22%) say they are “not at all” proud to be an American, compared to 13% of young men. By comparison, majorities of both men and women over 65 say they are extremely proud to be Americans.
While that question is uniquely American, the growing gender divide between young people is not. Pollsters, social scientists and politicians have observed it happening across other countries in recent years, raising broader questions about global culture and information ecosystems.
Twice as many women under 30 say they consider TikTok their favorite source of news and information compared to young men, while young men are twice as likely to call YouTube their favorite source of news and information compared to young women, the poll shows.
The poll also outlines differences in priorities. The largest share of young men (31%) say the economy matters most to them right now, while the top issue chosen by the largest share of Gen Z women (22%) is threats to democracy. The share of Gen Z women who say abortion is their top issue (16%) is more than double any other age range. Meanwhile, 4% of Gen Z men say abortion is the most important issue to them.
There is also a wider gap between Gen Z men and women than in other generations on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, with 85% of young women saying such efforts are helpful compared to 63% of young men who say the same.
While majorities of Gen Z men and women disapprove of how Trump is handling DEI, young women do so at a much higher level, with 78% disapproving compared to 54% of Gen Z men.
And notably, Gen Z also has a wider gender gap compared to older generations on questions about gender issues and roles.
More young men (69%) agree there are only two genders, while about half (51%) of young women say the same. That chasm is twice as large as the overall gender gap on this question.
A higher share of Gen Z men (72%) than Gen Z women (56%) say transgender women should not be allowed to play female sports.
Young men and women also showcased a split on whether the country would be stronger if women held “traditional gender roles,” like homemaking and raising children.
Three in four Gen Z women disagree that the country would be stronger if women held traditional roles, with 58% strongly disagreeing. While 59% of Gen Z men also disagree with that sentiment, only a third say they strongly disagree.
This NBC News Stay Tuned poll was powered by SurveyMonkey, the fast, intuitive feedback management platform where 20 million questions are answered daily. It was conducted online April 11-20 among a national sample of 19,682 adults ages 18 and over. Reported percentages exclude item nonresponse and round to the nearest percentage point. The estimated margin of error for this survey among all adults is plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
