Report

Ballot of the sexes

This report from UK think tank Onward examines the growing gender divide in political attitudes.

Ballot of the Sexes examines a growing gender divide in political attitudes and voting intentions in the UK, particularly among younger voters. Based on polling of 5,000 people aged 16–40, the report finds that men and women are drifting in different political directions: younger men are increasingly inclined to support Reform UK, while younger women show stronger support for the Green Party and other left-of-centre parties. This pattern mirrors international trends seen in countries like the United States, Germany, Portugal and South Korea, where political preferences are increasingly split along gender and generational lines.

The divide is also reflected in differing priorities on issues such as immigration, crime, housing affordability and wellbeing, with young women more likely to report lower life satisfaction, stress and loneliness than their male peers. Beyond party choice, the report highlights broader attitudinal differences between genders under 40: women are more likely to feel that society treats them worse than men, while men are more likely to prioritise issues like crime and immigration.

The evidence suggests that Generation Z, especially those who came of age during the COVID pandemic (‘Generation COVID’), are particularly polarized, with young men and women inhabiting different informational and social spaces that may reinforce these divides.

Onward warns that if mainstream parties fail to address the underlying economic and social concerns of younger voters, this gendered political split could pose challenges for traditional political coalitions and party strategies in future elections.