Scotland's gender divide over independence
By Sophy Ridge
Sky News
If Scotland decides to reject independence in Thursday's referendum, it will be down to the votes of women.
The polls may have fluctuated (throwing Westminster into an unseemly panic) but one thing has remained consistent: female voters are far more likely to be in the No camp.
Women are also about four times more likely to be undecided than men, which means they have been relentlessly targeted by both campaigns in a bid to get them to join their respective sides.
The latest YouGov poll is particularly telling. The pollsters put the No campaign a nose in front. But the gender division is anything but neck and neck.
Men now divide 54-46% in favour of independence (and have consistently come out in favour of a Yes vote in the past few weeks).
But when it comes to the women, the number planning on voting Yes has dropped to just 42%.
In other words, they are not convinced by the arguments and women's scepticism is outweighing the optimism felt by men over independence.
There has been a huge amount of speculation as to why the gender gap persists.
Are women less risk averse than men? Perhaps they tend to be more fearful about the impact on future generations? Or maybe women are less nationalistic than their male counterparts?
It is hard to pinpoint the reason without being patronising or relying on stereotypes.
But while it may be impossible to prove the reasons behind the gender gap, one thing is for certain: it exists.
And that is a problem for Alex Salmond.