In the lead-up to the federal election, there has been growing discussion about whether young men and women are diverging ideologically. Are we starting to see differences not just in political preferences, but in how young Australians view issues like gender roles?
Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, I examine how attitudes toward traditional gender norms vary by age and gender from 2001 to 2023. These norms are captured through an index ranging from 1 to 7 – where 7 represents strong agreement with statements about traditional gender norms – based on agreement with statements such as “men make better political leaders than women do” and “it is better for everyone involved if the man earns the money and the woman takes care of the home and children”.
The results show a clear trend: on average, beliefs in traditional gender roles have been declining across generations. But Gen Z men are emerging as an exception.
This reversal of the typical generational pattern is surprising. Younger age groups usually hold less traditional norms, reflecting broader social and cultural change. That pattern still holds for women: younger women – Gen Z and Millennials – are the least traditional group in the data. But Gen Z men stand apart – more traditional than Millennial and Gen X men, and much higher than their female peers.
To understand this trend, it’s useful to look at the data in two ways: by generation and by age.
In the generational breakdown, Gen Z men (born 1997–2012), on average, report more traditional beliefs than both Millennials (1981–1996) and Gen X (1965–1980) men. Meanwhile, women’s typical beliefs have declined steadily across generations, with younger cohorts consistently showing less belief in traditional norms.
When the data is split by age group, the pattern is even clearer. In 2023, on average, men aged 15-24 had higher belief in traditional gender norms than men aged 25-34 and 35-44 – suggesting this isn’t just a generational story, but something more specific to today’s young men. At the same time, women of the same age are less traditional, creating a noticeable divergence between young men and women.
So, why might young men hold differing views to older men, and younger women?
There is no single explanation. Some commentary points to young people engaging with different social media content, others highlight the possibility of backlash to changing gender roles. Shifting economic opportunities may also play a role.
Regression analysis using the same data shows that since 2018, young men’s views have become significantly more traditional – narrowing what was previously a clear gap between them and older men. Importantly, this trend holds even when accounting for factors like education, employment and whether one lives in a regional area. That means demographics alone are not sufficient to explain it, but they do tell part of the story.
Further research is needed to understand the drivers of this change. It’s still too early to know whether this pattern reflects a lasting shift or a temporary phase. Attitudes can change over time, particularly as people move through different life stages.
While older men, those aged over 65, remain the most traditional group in absolute terms, Gen Z men now appear are more traditional than other men, and other young people—especially compared to young women. This points to a possible generational split not just between age groups, but within them.
If the divergence between young men and women persists, it could have implications for policy areas ranging from education to labour market participation.
With the federal election approaching, this data is a reminder that “young voters” are not a uniform group. Whether beliefs about traditional gender norms translate directly into political preferences is unclear. Nonetheless, segmenting by age alone may mask important variations within a cohort. Gender is one dimension where differences are emerging.
