There is a rise in young women identifying as politically liberal in recent years. Particularly with regards to the environment and abortion. Such emphasizes the heightened importance of issues impacting women in the upcoming presidential election—an election that many view as pivotal in shaping the future of women’s rights and freedoms in the U.S.
Women aged 18-29 who identify as politically liberal have jumped 10 percent since 2016, according to the pollster Gallup, a rate unmatched in other groups. This recent surge in young women’s liberal identity has widened the gender gap so that women identify as liberal (40 percent) at now 15 points higher than men (25 percent).
NYU Gender Studies student Josie Leach (’26) is not surprised by the data.
“It’s about what women are more inclined to stand for. Young men want this vision of toxic masculinity, of giving power back to the man. Women are trying to fight for their basic reproductive rights,” said Leach. She says that other big ticket issues such as the economy are less of a priority to her. “Reproductive rights feels like something that should be such a fundamental human right is being put into question. I know the economy is really important, but something that I know puts a threat on my own body…it will ignite a lot more passion from me.”
Let’s examine where women are considered in a potential presidency under each candidate.
Reproductive Rights
Reproductive justice has been at the forefront of women advocacy efforts since the overture of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Both candidates have made their stance on abortion access clear. Harris pledged to work toward codifying the federal right to an abortion in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. As president, Trump appointed the Supreme Court justices responsible for overturning the federal constitutional right to abortion afforded in Roe v. Wade. Since, abortion bans and stricter regulations have been put into effect in 22 states.
Harris condemned Trump for his role in repealing abortion protections during the presidential debate earlier this month.
“Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” said Harris. She readily called him out when he falsely claimed that the left’s stance on abortion supports execution after birth, parroting rhetoric he used against President Biden in the previous debate. “Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion. That is not happening.”
American broadcaster and debate moderator Linsey Davis also corrected him: “There is no state in this country where it’s legal to kill a baby after it’s born.”
The Republican nominee has been unclear on his views on abortion throughout his campaign, criticizing Florida’s six-week abortion ban as “too short” yet boasting his part in unwinding the constitutional right to abortion.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint,” said Trump in a video posted to his Truth Social. He says he will not back a federal abortion ban. “The states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state.”
Child Care Affordability
In June, thousands of parents petitioned to hear how the presidential nominees would families struggling to meet the rising costs of childcare. While Biden briefly discussed raising the child tax credit, Trump ignored the question entirely.
When asked again about specific legislation he will advance to address the issue at an event for the Economic Club of New York, Trump recounted that “childcare is childcare.” He suggests that his plan to hike tariffs will pay for childcare, but offers no explanation for how.
Reshma Saujani, the founder and CEO of Moms First who pressed Trump about his plan for child care, is not satisfied with Trump’s response.
“We have a market failure in child care because we refuse to fix it…50 percent of Americans live in child care deserts,” said Saujani. She is also skeptical of running mate J.D. Vance’s idea to enlist grandparents to help with childcare responsibilities. “I want to hear Vance and Trump talk about what’s really happening with child care in America and offer real policies and solutions beyond a ‘Just ask Grandma’ or frankly, talking about tariffs that have nothing to do with this.”
Harris announced last Tuesday that she intends to cap child care costs at seven percent of working families’ income, following early objectives of the Biden administration. She pushes that child care providers should “receive the wages that they deserve based on the dignity of their work.”
Melissa Boteach, Vice President of Child Care and Income Security at the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, reflected the sentiments felt by child care advocates from Harris’ response.
“It tracks with her history of being a strong champion on child care and early learning and her understanding the stress of parents trying to find and afford care and of providers trying to make a living wage,” Boteach said.
“She Deserved a Purse”
Child care affordability is an issue of vital concern to parents, both Democrat and Republican. A 2023 report found that the high cost of child care in the U.S. averaged more than $11,000 per child per year. Approximately 40 percent of parents feel supported by their employer, according to the 2024 State of Parenting survey. An overwhelming 95 percent believe the government should better support working parents.
People online are recognizing the sacrifices made in the name of childcare. TikTok user Danaesha Gonzalez posted a video in which she left a brand new purse in the baby aisle of a store with the caption: “To the Mother who chose themselves last, you deserve the world tonight and always.🤎”
Other media influencers have joined the now viral trend, including popular creator Tabitha Swatosh generating tens of millions of views. Staggering support fills the comments. Several mothers are touched by the recognition of the colder reality of parenthood in the U.S.
TikTok user ashley🍉 commented: “I haven’t had my hair done in years. My nails done in years. My clothes come from Walmart. We can’t afford childcare. But my babies have what they need. One day, I’ll have the purse, just not today.❤️”
Campaigning for Women
Many have come to recognize the outcome in November as one that will either reinforce or redefine women’s rights and freedom in the country. The upcoming election is framed by sex. The first ever woman of color to be nominated by the Democratic Party is going toe to toe with a convicted rapist vocal with his disrespect for women. Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley criticized Donald Trump and running mate J.D. Vance on Fox & Friends for their remarks on women that she accredits with Vice President Kamala Harris’ lead in the gender gap.
“Donald Trump and J.D. Vance need to change the way they speak about women. You don’t need to call Kamala dumb. She didn’t get this far by accident…You don’t need to go and talk about intelligence or looks or anything else. Just focus on the policies,” said Haley. “When you call even a Democrat woman dumb, Republican women get their backs up, too.”
10 states have measures on the ballot in November that will allow voters to directly decide whether to protect abortion rights. Harris has made women a major theme of her campaign, a platform for women harmed by state-level abortion restrictions to share their stories. Trump recently endorsed a North Carolina governor who has publicly stated he would “absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn’t vote.”
Leach anticipates the urgency of the election in November may affect voter turnout: “Hopefully we’ll see more people voting, both women and men. The stakes feel a lot higher.”
