Gender Equality or Gender Bias? World Bank Strategy Ignores Male Disadvantages

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: G. Lawrence DeMarco, LLM
Email: ldemarco@menandboys.net
Phone: 1-215-901-1930

Gender Equality or Gender Bias? World Bank Strategy Ignores Male Disadvantages

August 8, 2024 – The World Bank Group has just released its Gender Strategy 2024-2030 (1). While purporting to advocate for gender equality, in fact the document fails to address the many disadvantages faced by men and boys around the world.

The World Bank document highlights issues such as women’s education, economic opportunities, and leadership roles. Unfortunately, the report neglects critical issues that disproportionately affect men and boys.

The International Council for Men and Boys has identified 12 global areas in which men and boys are lagging behind women and girls. (2) The World Bank report omits all mention of five major disparities affecting males:

Workplace Safety: Men face 15 times the amount of workplace deaths (3) and nearly twice as many occupational injuries (4), compared to women.
Education: The World Bank reports, “More than 100 countries have lower levels of male secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion. Learning poverty rates are higher for boys than for girls in all regions and almost all countries of the world.” (5)
Mental Health: The report ignores the fact that men commit suicide at almost three times the rate of women (6).
Homelessness: Men comprise 76% of the homeless population globally (7).
Violence: While the report highlights gender-based violence against women, it fails to address the fact that half of all domestic violence incidents are perpetrated by women. (8)

A genuine gender equality strategy must address the disadvantages faced by members of both sexes. Ignoring the significant issues impacting men and boys not only perpetuates these problems, but also undermines the goal of true gender equality. The International Council for Men and Boys (ICMB) urges the World Bank to revise its strategy to ensure needed assistance for men and boys.

The International Council for Men and Boys is a non-governmental organization that is working to celebrate the contributions of men to society and to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys around the world. Achieving #GenderEqualityForMen also will benefit women. https://www.menandboys.net/

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Gender Equality or Gender Bias? World Bank Strategy Ignores Male Disadvantages

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