EqualiZe

Policy Study

A new political gender divide is often said to be defining Gen Z in Europe: young women moving left; young men moving right. But is this really the case?

Drawing on European Social Survey Data across the EU and beyond, as well as focus groups with young people in Germany, Greece, Poland, Spain and Sweden, this policy study offers a more nuanced answer. It shows that gender differences among young Europeans are real but uneven across countries and issues. The clearest gaps appear in ideological self-placement and attitudes towards gender equality, while differences in voting behaviour are less pronounced than public debate often suggests.

Rather than a simple cultural clash between young women and men, the study reveals a generation shaped by shared insecurity: rising living costs; housing pressures; unstable labour markets; climate anxiety; and weakening trust in political institutions. It argues that the emerging divide is best understood not as a deep ideological rupture, but as a reflection of precarity, uncertainty and contested interpretations of gender equality, as well as the different importance young women and men attach to it, despite the principle itself remaining broadly shared.

By linking gender equality to economic security, social protection, mental wellbeing, inclusive social norms and effective governance, this policy study sets out forward-looking recommendations for rebuilding trust, opportunity and democratic resilience across generations.

Case study – Spain – Beware of neoliberal feminism: Why Spanish young people are less sexist but more antifeminist by Javier Carbonell

This Policy Study is also available in Spanish.

Despite Spain’s position as a European leader in gender-equality policy, anti-feminist sentiment is growing among its youngest generation. The Spanish case study reveals a clear rightward shift among Spanish Gen Z, particularly among young men, who have moved significantly to the ideological right. Since 2022, a similar trend has emerged among young women. Yet most young people are still not right-wing, and they express less sexism than older generations — making their simultaneous rejection of feminism paradoxical.

The study argues this paradox is largely explained by the rise of neoliberal, individualist feminism, which emphasises personal success over collective action and overlooks structural inequalities. Combined with deep economic insecurity and widespread distrust of political institutions, this leads many young people to view feminism as part of a distant, ineffective establishment rather than a transformative force.

Case study – Sweden – Shared instability, divergent interpretations: Explaining Sweden’s Gen Z gender divide by Megan Rådesjö

Despite being one of the world’s most gender-equal countries, Sweden exhibits one of Europe’s sharpest gender divides among Generation Z. Yet, this divide does not stem from fundamentally different social realities. The Swedish case study reveals that young women and men live through the same conditions of instability — but interpret them differently, leading them to support different political solutions.

The study argues that closing this divide requires policies that restore material security and rebuild trust in democratic institutions and the welfare state. Strengthening social cohesion further depends on visible political action, the promotion of inclusive gender norms, and measures that connect structural conditions to young people’s lived experiences of instability.

Equalize was mentioned in an article in Der Standard. Read it now!

For more information regarding the project and this publication, please do not hesitate to contact Matteo Dressler, Policy Analyst on Democracy and Participation, FEPS (matteo.dressler@feps-europe.eu) and Julia Wild, Project Officer, FEPS (julia.wild@feps-europe.eu).

Watch the launch of ‘Equalize’ at the Global Progressive Mobilisation in Barcelona at the panel Gender, politics, and the understanding of equality among Generation Z with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Madrid and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Vienna.

With:

• Gefjon Off, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Hamburg (co-author of FEPS Policy study) 
• Elena Avramovska, Senior Researcher for Democracy, Society and Youth, Friedrich Ebert Foundation (editor of FEPS Policy Study) 
• Irja Vaateri, Secretary General of Young European Socialists (YES) 
• Lina Gálvez Muñoz, S&D Member of the European Parliament; Chair, Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM); Chair of the FEPS Scientific Council
• Philipp Türmer, Federal Chair of the Young Socialists (Jusos) in the SPD  

Moderated by Matteo Dressler, FEPS Policy Analyst on Democracy and Participation