Can Millennial Women Decide the Next Election?
A new collaboration between the Hive, theSkimm, and SurveyMonkey traces the interest, and likely impact, of female millennial voters in advance of the consequential 2018 midterms.
If Donald Trump had looked out the Oval Office window on January 20, across the discolored expanse of the South Lawn, he would have taken in a terrifying image: tens of thousands of women, brandishing signs and bedecked in pink to protest the anniversary of his presidency and a year defined more than ever by the predations of powerful men. Across the country, more than a million people again flooded the streets in New York, San Francisco, Oakland, Austin, Chicago, and other major cities, to send an unmistakable message: we’re here, and we vote. “Last year, we had this excitement. It was new. We were doing something,” one New Yorker told Vanity Fair, adding, “This year, after all [we’ve] gone through, I feel like the anger . . . is just so prevalent.”
The energy and enthusiasm of the Women’s March seemed to mark a decisive turning point for a country in which young women are fast becoming one of the most powerful voting blocs. During the 2016 presidential election, millennial women—those between the ages of 18 and 34—were 28 percent more engaged than four years prior, even as voter turnout slumped to its lowest level in two decades, according to CNN. Now, after the jolt of Trump’s presidency, this group—everyone from recent high-school graduates to young women just entering the workforce to pre-middle-aged moms—is on the brink of re-writing the electoral map. These women receive information in ways their parents would have found inconceivable. They’re at the forefront of a vast cultural upheaval that could change how new generations interact with the world. They’re responsible for turning the tables on age-old notions of gender roles. Yet their wants are distinct, and their vision of the future is nuanced—something that’s become increasingly evident following the 2016 election. The Women’s March unites them, but additional data—data on who they are and what they want, which will ultimately prove crucial to candidates hoping to win their votes—is frustratingly scant. With this in mind, the Hive, theSkimm, and SurveyMonkey have teamed up to launch a new, year-long editorial project in advance of the midterm elections: Millennial Takeover 2018 will strive to better understand female millennials, what matters to them, and why.