NEW research has laid bare an uncomfortable truth about the state of gender equality today.
And no, for once, it’s not that women have it bad – it’s that we’re failing boys.
7
7
When Boris Johnson took over from Theresa May, my young daughter asked, “How come that man is now Prime Minister?”
I explained to her that Theresa May, who she had until then known as PM, had let someone else have a go at the job.
“Oh,” she said, confused, “I didn’t know a man is allowed to be Prime Minister.”
That was the moment I realised just how far we’d come: My daughter was growing up in a world where she didn’t assume “her place” was in the kitchen, but rather in the Cabinet.
READ MORE FROM MERCY MUROKI
But now, as I look at new alarming stats from the Centre for Social Justice, it’s clear to me: In our efforts to pave the way for girls, we’ve kicked boys to the kerb.
The research shows that boys are falling behind girls at nearly every stage of their lives.
And it’s not just a rounding error, it amounts to a national scandal.
Just days ago, Keir Starmer stood up and promised that by 2028, 75 per cent of children starting school would be “school ready”.
Yet, he failed to mention the most important issue — while girls are already meeting his target, it’s boys who are lagging behind, with only 60 per cent being up to the expected standard by the time they’re five.
Toxic narrative
The truth is, girls now outperform boys across nearly all subjects, and boys are twice as likely to be excluded from school.
And for white working-class boys, the situation is even worse.
In 2023, only around a third of white British pupils on free school meals passed GCSE English and maths, well below black, Asian, and mixed groups.
But this isn’t just an education issue, it’s an economic dilemma, and a cultural crisis.
Since the pandemic, the number of unemployed young men has soared by 40 per cent, compared to 7 per cent for young women.
Over half a million young men are now not in education, employment, nor training, costing taxpayers an extra £2billion annually in Universal Credit payments alone.
Meanwhile, young women’s real income has overtaken young men’s for the first time in history.
When young men feel overlooked and underappreciated by society, they spiral into addiction, crime, and despair.
Just look at the prison population: 96 per cent of prisoners are men.
While things are getting better for young women, young men face a bleak, miserable existence.
It’s no surprise that men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women.
It’s clear that we’ve let a toxic narrative take hold, the idea that masculinity is something that needs to be fixed.
But boys don’t need to be “fixed”.
They need to be empowered to be good men, just as we’ve empowered young women.
They need better education, better jobs, and better odds.
When I worked in government advising then Minister for Women and Equalities Kemi Badenoch, I took comfort in seeing a government ministry with dedicated teams working to improve things for women and protect women’s rights.
Yesterday, the Labour government announced the priorities for its new Office for Equality and Opportunity.
It promised to ensure “women’s equality becomes a reality”.
Unsurprisingly, the word “women” appears nine times in the statement, and disabled people, ethnic minorities, and trans people are also listed as priorities.
But not once is the word “boys” mentioned despite the fact that they face some of the worst outcomes, and never mind the fact they’re 50 per cent of the population.
Challenges facing boys
With such an obvious and glaring omission, the new ministry might be better named the Office for Missed Opportunity.
I believe we desperately need a Minister for Men and Boys.
The challenges facing boys today, from school exclusions to joblessness to mental health issues, demand the attention of those at the heart of government.
Ignoring the struggles of boys is just as harmful as ignoring the struggles of women or ethnic minorities.
We cannot continue to pretend boys’ problems don’t matter.
There are those who will dismiss this as a culture war, or some ploy to legitimise “toxic masculinity”.
But we face a simple choice: We can leave young men to fester in the dark corners of society as the likes of Andrew Tate take on the mantle of guiding them, which would be a catastrophe for all.
Or, those in power could show they give a damn about how much we are failing young boys.
Many much-revered figures such as Barack Obama, have claimed “you can judge a society by how it treats its women and girls”.
Well, I think it’s time to start judging ourselves by how we’ve been treating our boys, too.
Will is key to US link
IT’S fair to say that Labour politicians have not exactly covered themselves in glory in their attitudes to the incoming American President Donald Trump in the past.
Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, described him a few years ago as “tyrant”, “woman-hating”, “racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser” and “sociopath”.
7
Tad much if you ask me.
Perhaps a bit of foresight might have indicated that such outbursts might come back to haunt Labour should Trump become president once again.
We have years of awkward relationships with the new Labour government and Donald Trump’s incoming administration to look forward to.
So, it was quite refreshing to see Prince William meeting Donald Trump in Paris this week, putting politics aside, being all smiles, and reminding us what grown-up diplomacy with our closest ally looks like.
Not even Trump should trump a good old-fashioned special relationship.
Strictly magic is spoiled by classy dancers
IS it just me or does Strictly Come Dancing get boring when people who could already dance well before they joined the show make the final?
Quite frankly, I’ve always thought it’s cheating a bit.
7
7
Take Tasha Ghouri, the former Love Island star and model who has made the final.
She is inarguably the best dancer on the show and has received full marks twice.
Tasha is also an incredible role model for deaf people.
But she was a trained dancer before joining the show, what do you expect?!
JB Gill from JLS has also made the final.
Again, his dancing has been well above the calibre of the other male dancers.
But, again, he did get years of professional dance training while in JLS.
We need more people on the show with two left feet, who make us slightly cringe for weeks but who we eventually find endearing.
Sadiq’s sad stats
MANY people are furious that Sadiq Khan is set to receive the top honour of a knighthood.
A petition calling for it to be stopped has already been signed by more than 140,000 people.
7
It’s silly that politicians get knighthoods for winning elections and sticking around in Westminster for long enough.
It’s another whole level of taking the mick when said politician has presided over what many see as the slow and painful demise of one of the greatest cities in the world.
During Khan’s leadership, things haven’t exactly been rosy.
He’s overseen record surges in stabbings and homicides, violent crime soaring 30 per cent since he first came to power, has repeatedly missed his own housebuilding targets, and London was just voted the worst city for a night out in the UK.
With these dire stats, it’s a surprise more Londoners wouldn’t be honoured to see him kicked out of office.
Two is plenty
I DON’T know who needs to hear this but . . . your kid doesn’t need more than one or two gifts for Christmas.
Pictures of Christmas trees surrounded by what can only be described as a moat of boxes leave me utterly bamboozled.
7
You’d think the parents are collecting boxes of clothes and food to send to a village of poor children abroad.
All the while, it’s just for a couple of toddlers.
What are you people putting in there?!
I couldn’t bear the amount of unused tat I’d end up with as a result.
So, I’m getting my daughter two gifts.
Cure the audible gasps of some parents out there who will, no doubt, call me an Ebenezer Scrooge.
But, I think it means you end up putting more thought into the gift, and your kid doesn’t end up a spoilt brat.
What’s not to love?
