While mainstream institutions promote a vivid narrative that women and minorities constitute an oppressed class, academia has been systematically discriminating against men for decades, and it has become increasingly difficult to ignore the consequences of this preferential treatment.
A new report from the Pew Research Center speaks to the differences between American girls and boys in their educational experiences. It revealed that female students (aged 13-17) outperform their male peers academically and in leadership roles.
Teenage girls are also more likely to pursue higher education, with 60% reporting plans to attend college after graduating from high school, compared to only 46% of teenage boys. This is a continuation of a larger trend we’ve seen of young women outnumbering young men as university graduates.
Why aren’t men pursuing higher education? Among adults who aren’t enrolled at university and who do not have a bachelor’s degree, roughly a third of men said they “just didn’t want to.” In comparison, only 1 in 4 women said the same. These sex differences are also more pronounced among white individuals than black or Hispanic individuals.
This problem begins long before students apply to university. The educational system acknowledges girls’ needs but not boys’. The system requires sitting at desks for hours instead of lessons incorporating physical movement and sensory activities (that engage all five senses). Boy-typical behavior is pathologized. This is reflected in an increased number of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses in males and a higher threshold for diagnosis in females. One in 6 students also reported that teachers favor girls.
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe too little emphasis is placed on encouraging boys to be leaders and to do well in school. But university campuses, like primary and secondary school classrooms, are deeply imbued with left-leaning political bias and diversity, equity, and inclusion practices that are especially hostile toward white and Asian men and conservatives.
Although the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that race-based affirmative action in college admissions is unconstitutional, universities have been reluctant to comply. This is evidenced by the Trump administration’s investigation of 45 colleges for “race-exclusionary practices.”
Taken together, these factors may explain why many men are turning to blue-collar jobs instead of attending college. Learning a trade allows an individual to bypass unjust DEI vetting and earn a living based on one’s technical skills and hard work.
Blue-collar professions currently make up 35% of the fastest-growing jobs, and more than 1.7 million new positions are expected by 2032. An added bonus is that due to the hands-on nature of their jobs, skilled laborers such as plumbers and electricians aren’t as easily replaced by artificial intelligence or automation.
In today’s marketplace, it’s questionable whether a college degree maintains the same utility it once held. Only a third of college graduates under the age of 50 said their college experience was “extremely useful” in helping them prepare for the workforce, compared with 45% of college graduates aged 50 and older.
If men decide they are happier working in a blue-collar industry, they shouldn’t be castigated for this. But many male colleagues I’ve spoken to have abandoned academia in disciplines such as science, business, and law because they were unfairly penalized.
This isn’t to say women and girls should be held back from pursuing their ambitions in higher education or leadership roles. Female academic and professional success should be celebrated. But supporting one sex doesn’t necessitate punishing the other.
What’s remarkable is Democrats are more likely to say there is too little emphasis on encouraging boys to “talk about their feelings when they are sad or upset.” So, why is the Left embracing a blueprint that unsympathetically tramples over the feelings and well-being of men?
It reinforces the message that men are disposable and worth less than their female counterparts. This creates animosity between the sexes — generations of men who are resentful of women and believe they are unfairly privileged and women who understandably want nothing to do with men who hate them.
These policies hurt everyone, regardless of political affiliation. Combined with the fact that women are hypergamous (preferring romantic partners who are at a similar or higher level of socioeconomic status than they are), declining marriage and birth rates will continue for the foreseeable future.
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Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist and the author of The End of Gender. Follow her @DrDebraSoh.