The generational war is not the one we think it is. It's not between the over-50s "boomers" and the under-25s, but within younger generations themselves, between the two sexes. Several studies and surveys recently published in British media have examined this puzzling phenomenon.
It can be summed up as follows: Girls are becoming increasingly progressive, while boys of the same age are leaning more and more towards the conservative side. A Gallup poll unveiled by The Financial Times on January 26 revealed that American women aged 18 to 30 are 30 points more liberal (in the American sense, in other words, to the left) than their male counterparts. Six years ago, this cultural and political gap did not exist. It is also 30 points higher in Germany and 25 points higher in the UK, has no equivalent among older women, and is not unique to the West: It's just as prevalent in South Korea, China and Tunisia, the newspaper pointed out, analyzing a series of data on the subject. Everywhere, a potentially dramatic gap is widening between young women and young men.
It most likely is in part a consequence of the #MeToo movement, which not only enabled women to speak out about harassment but also legitimized the sense of injustice felt by those who are no longer hesitant about expressing it. Compounding this is an educational divide. Progressive stances tend to increase with years of study. European women aged 25 to 34 now have more higher education qualifications than European men of the same age: 46% versus 35%, according to Eurostat.
Despite this progress, gender inequalities remain high. In 2022, the average salary of French women was 23.5% lower than that of French men. The responsibility for 80% of single-parent families in our country lies with mothers; 20% of women – and 34% when they have children – fall into poverty after a divorce, compared with 8% of men, as was shown by a study published by the Women's Foundation on March 14. Women's pensions are 28% lower than men's, and even 40%, if we exclude survivors' pensions.
Angry young men
This has not prevented a male "backlash" against women's emancipation. One illustration is the rise of masculinist movements, which advocate for a virilist view of the world and relationships. Worse still, this gulf in values between young people is already having palpable consequences in politics.
In Germany and in France, men under 30 are turning more to far-right movements than their elders, noted The Economist on March 13. The British newspaper also recalled that 72% of young American women who voted in the 2022 general election supported the Democratic candidate, compared with 54% of young men. In 2008, this gap was virtually nonexistent. In Portugal, the right-wing populist Chega party thrived in the March 10 legislative elections thanks to the massive support of young, poorly educated, male voters.
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