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

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.

Disclaimer: The current studies are non-definitive versions that also do not yet fulfil all accessibility criteria.

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