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New polling from The Common Sense and the Social Research Foundation shows that women are far more likely than men to give no rating when asked how the parties in the Government of National Unity are performing. Asked about the Patriotic Alliance, 62% of women gave no view, against 31% of men. For the FF+ the figures were 56% and 33%, and for the IFP 48% and 24%. The gap narrows for the two large parties but does not close: 26% of women could not rate the DA against 12% of men, and 15% could not rate the ANC against 5%. The full figures are set out in the chart below.*

The pattern is not confined to this battery. On every question in the survey that allowed an undecided answer, women were more likely than men to give one. That has a practical consequence for how approval figures are read. The published ratings for the smaller GNU parties rest on a base in which most women gave no rating at all, so those parties' "performing well" and "performing poorly" shares describe a sample that leans male. The survey records how often each group volunteered no opinion; it does not measure why. Familiarity with the smaller parties, interview dynamics, or a general reluctance to rate parties one does not follow are all consistent with the numbers, and the data cannot separate them.

* The Social Research Foundation’s Q2 2026 Market Survey was conducted in conjunction with The Common Sense and carried out by Victory Research among 2 214 registered voters between 8 and 31 July 2026 using telephonic CATI interviews. National results are based on the full sample of 2 214 respondents. Metro results are based on samples of 504 respondents in Johannesburg, 508 in Tshwane, and 500 in eThekwini. A single frame random digit dialling design was used, drawing from all possible South African mobile numbers to ensure that every number had an equal probability of selection. National SIM card penetration exceeds 250.0%, more than 90.0% of adults own a phone, and mobile networks cover 99.8% of the population, providing universal practical coverage. The samples were fully weighted to match the relevant registered voter populations across all key demographics, including language, age, race, gender, education, income, and urban or rural location. Turnout modelling assigned each respondent a probability of voting based on questions measuring their likelihood of participation, with the primary turnout model set at 56.0%. The national results carry a margin of error of 2.1% at a 95.0% confidence level, while the Johannesburg, Tshwane, and eThekwini results each carry a margin of error of 4.4%. The survey has a design effect of 3.7938.