Breaking Down the Latino Gender Gap: Views on Immigration, President Trump, and Democracy by Age and Education

Executive Summary

Latino voters are often discussed as a single political bloc, yet important differences exist within the electorate. While Latinas are generally more likely than Latinos to hold progressive views, disaggregating the Latino electorate by age and education reveals that the gender gap is not uniform. 

Using data from the May 2026 UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll of 1,912 Latino registered voters in California, this report examines how Latinas and Latinos differ in their views on protecting immigrant communities, fighting the Trump agenda, and defending democracy and voting rights.

 This report identifies three key findings:

1. The Latino gender gap is largest among younger voters. Across immigration, the Trump agenda, and democracy, younger Latinas consistently express more progressive views than younger Latino men. In many cases, the differences between young Latinas and Latinos are substantially larger than those observed among older voters.
2. The Latino gender gap is also pronounced among voters without a bachelor’s degree. Latinas without a four-year degree are substantially more likely than similarly educated Latino men to prioritize immigrant protections, opposition to the Trump agenda, and the defense of democracy and voting rights.
3. College-educated Latinas and Latinos often hold similar political views. Across the issues examined, gender differences narrow considerably among voters with a bachelor’s degree. In several cases, Latina and Latino college graduates express nearly identical levels of concern about these three issues.

Taken together, these findings suggest that the Latino electorate requires greater disaggregation than is common in public and political discussions. Gender alone provides only a partial picture. Differences in views on immigration, the Trump agenda, and democracy become much clearer when age and educational attainment are taken into account, revealing substantial variation within the Latino electorate itself.