A sharp gender divide has opened up among younger voters, with men far more disposed towards Opposition Leader Peter Dutton than are women, and more optimistic about Australia’s economic outlook.

Conversely, women in the same age groups are more left-leaning, according to an analysis of The Australian Financial Review/Freshwater Strategy polling. Young women are more enamoured of the Greens than they are the Coalition, and significantly more pessimistic about the economic future.