The makeup of the Democratic Party has changed profoundly in recent years. In 1998, a majority (77 percent) of Democrats did not have a college or postgraduate degree. More than two decades later, the party’s composition has shifted dramatically, with college-educated and non-college-educated Democrats now evenly split at 50 percent.  This growing education divide is reshaping the party’s voter base, policy priorities, and political identity. One-third of the Democratic Party consists of college-educated women, a group that is consistently more progressive than most others. As the Democratic Party continues to prioritize the interests of college-educated women, they may alienate non-college-educated Americans, especially men. Read more.

Surveys show a growing gap emerging between young men and women. But the gender divide is not simply about politics, but a more fundamental misunderstanding. Our most recent survey revealed that only 42 percent of young men believe young women understand the problems men face in American society. Similarly, a majority (72 percent) of young women feel young men don’t understand their struggles. To better understand why so many young men and women feel misunderstood we decided to ask them to share their views, in their own words. Read more.

Trends in youth partisan affiliation provide a window into the growing political divide between young men and women. Since 2008, the percentage of young men who identify as Democrats has dropped 16 points. Republican affiliation among young men is on the rise, with more young men now belonging to the Republican party than any other time in the past two decades. Young women’s Democratic affiliation has dropped slightly since 2020, but a solid majority (56 percent) remain Democratic. Read more.