When it comes to the gender gap in politics and social issues, the space between men and women is most pronounced among Gen Z, according to a new NBC News/Decision Desk poll.
Among adults ages 18 to 29, 64% disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job performance compared with 36% who approve. But the survey found that young men are more evenly split (53% disapprove, 47% approve), than young women (74% disapprove, 26% approve). The 21-point difference in the president’s job approval rating has not changed since April.
According to the poll, the gender split carries over to Trump’s handling of key issues. On inflation/the cost of living and trade/tariffs, Gen Z men approve of the president by approximately 20 points more than their female counterparts do. The issue of immigration revealed the biggest split, where 45% of Gen Z men approve of how Trump is handling immigration and deportations versus just 21% of Gen Z women.
Members of Gen Z, or those born between 1997 and 2012, report being more anxious than members of other generations, with a quarter of respondents saying they “feel anxious or worried about the future” nearly all the time.
The high level of anxiety about the future reported by the 18-to-29 age cohort is driven in large part by young women, the survey found. One-third of Gen Z women said they feel anxious “almost all of the time,” while another third said they were anxious “most of the time.” Conversely, less than 2 in 10 Gen Z men said they felt anxious all the time.
The cultural differences between Gen Z men and women became particularly prominent when broken down by whom they voted for in the 2024 presidential election.
According to the poll, Gen Z men who voted for Trump say the most important factor in their personal definition of success is having children, while Gen Z women who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris say having children is the second-least important thing.
Emotional stability was ranked as the third-most important thing in young female Harris voters’ personal definitions of success compared with young men who voted for Trump, who rated emotional stability as second to last in their definitions.
Both men and women who voted for Trump are likelier to include financial independence, having children and being spiritually grounded in their definitions of success, while men and women who voted for Harris lean toward saying having a fulfilling job and using their resources and talents to help others is what defines success.
The poll was conducted Aug. 13-Sept. 1 and surveyed 30,196 adults, including 2,970 adults ages 18-29. The full sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. The subgroup of adults ages 18-29 has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
