Overview

• Gen Z voters are increasingly split along gender lines worldwide, with young men gravitating toward right-wing parties and young women favoring progressive platforms.
• Polls indicate that in South Korea’s June 3 presidential election almost 30% of men aged 18–29 plan to support right-wing Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok, compared with just 3% of young women.
• Data show an erosion of young men’s economic advantages since the pandemic, with rising housing costs and job insecurity reversing the gender pay gap in some democracies to women’s favour.
• Analysts say social media is fueling anger among young men, especially where blue-collar employment has declined, amplifying support for right-wing movements.
• Researchers caution that this widening split could hinder future tax and welfare reforms and note that compulsory voting, as practiced in Australia, appears to dampen extreme partisan shifts.