The matching of youth workers and interns based on gender is of utmost importance not only due to cultural and religious backgrounds but because it is generally not advisable to pair female trainees with male youth workers or vice versa for fear of sexual misconduct. Moreover, the general differences between male and female youth can have implications for the diversity of activities and programs necessary to engage young people.

It is clear that young men and women respond differently to the activities required by youth work, and the environment is an extremely important factor in encouraging them to engage with various youth programs and initiatives. Therefore, it is preferable for young people to involve them in activities such as sports or other persistent efforts to encourage them to break the barrier of fear and speak with their coaches, while girls show greater openness to sitting and chatting earlier in youth work programs.

However, these gender differences regarding mentoring activities or youth activities are mere generalizations; there are cases where matching based on gender is effective in engaging the benefitting youth while taking into account the age difference when this occurs. Additionally, the majority of youth program managers and policymakers always indicate that gender matching is a common practice and that it is important for providing an effective youth service.

Gender matching is considered effective because young people "feel more comfortable with individuals of the same gender, which increases the effectiveness of what they can achieve afterward" or to avoid discomfort and reduce risks that could arise from cross-gender matching, as noted by one policymaker who said: "I prefer imposing gender matching because I do not want to be a mediator in a dating service, the age group is what matters; no 21-year-old has ever been matched in youth work with a 16-year-old girl, I consider it a very significant risk."

However, there may be cases where youth workers benefit from gender matching when they lack an important role model for relationships and positive experiences with the opposite gender.

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