BORN BETWEEN THE LATE 1990S AND THE EARLY 2010s, Gen Z, the first generation reared on the internet, has come of age; more than 30 million of them—the oldest of whom are now 26 years old—have reached legal voting age as of 2021. By 2028, demographers anticipate Gen Z and their older millennial counterparts will constitute most of the U.S. electorate, setting them up to have a profound influence on the direction of the country for decades to come.
Early in their political lives, they’ve proven to be a reliably Democratic voting bloc at a time the United States finds itself at a crossroads on issues like abortion, labor rights and protections for LGBTQ+ people.
A look under the hood, however, paints a more complicated picture. New data shows there is a growing, gender-based rift emerging in Gen Z between men and women fueled by economic and social strife. Researchers say that
