I actually think there’s evidence is not true. But at a meta level, I often think in politics you face this implicit sense that compassion or concern is zero sum, that to care about one group or one issue is to care less about another.

So I wanted to have Reeves on the show to take a close look at these numbers, to think through some of the objections to them, and to ask what can and should be done here.Īnd I went back and forth on saying this next part because maybe it’s just obvious. And it gets much, much worse when you go down the income ladder. And they’re falling behind in ways that are tough on families, in ways that are tough on marriages, ways that are tough on children. They’re falling behind where they have been in the past. The problem is that in a lot of places, men are doing poorly. And obviously - obviously, the problem there is not that women are doing well. So the gap is bigger now than it was in 1972, but in women’s favor. That gap has only grown since, to 15 points, but now it’s women ahead.

At that time, there was a 13 point gender gap in bachelor’s degrees, with men of course ahead 13 points. Here’s one stat Reeves offered that blows my mind about Title IX, the big gender equity and education bill that was passed in 1972. But the progress women have made in that time is remarkable. And only in recent decades have enormous barriers been even weakened. Men have been dominant, forcibly dominant, legally dominant in society, functionally forever. When we think about gender inequality, we’re usually thinking about women and girls, and for good reason. Reeves is a senior fellow at Brookings, where he’s been studying inequality and poverty and family policy and gender inequality for years.Īnd that work has taken him to an unexpected, even uncomfortable place. It’s just what the numbers say across a huge range of domains - health, and education, and income, and happiness, and friendship, and on and on. That’s the argument of Richard Reeves’ new book, “Of Boys and Men.” Or maybe I shouldn’t say it’s the argument. Transcript The Men - and Boys - Are Not Alright Richard Reeves breaks down the evidence that many American males are falling behind in education, employment and health.

Spotify sign me out everywhere