In 2024 women only make up 35% of members of the Houses of Commons. [1]
Why, in a country that prides itself on equality, is 51% of the population not proportionally represented in Westminster? [2]
Why, despite this, when surveyed, 47% of Britons believe we have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that we are discriminating against men? [3] Even when, in 2024 it is still harder for women to work in politics.
When researching for this article I found myself asking several questions:
- Are we now discriminating against men?
- Why do women still face inequality?
- And crucially, what can you do about it?
Are we Now Discriminating Against Men?
Many young men today believe they are being marginalised. As touched on previously, it is not uncommon for men, especially young men, to feel as though feminism is now discriminating against them.
It is easy to understand why. Young people live and interact through social media. Not completely. But far more than any other age group.[4]
Social media democratises information but can also give extremist views a platform. Those with fringe views are brought to the forefront. Controversy gets views. The likes of Andrew Tate come to mind.
Online spaces create “enclave deliberation”, which is the “form of deliberation that takes place when conversations only occur among like-minded people”. This creates polarisation and a “breeding ground for extremism”. [5]
Enclave deliberation coupled with confirmation bias, wherein people look for and interpret information that reinforces their biases and beliefs they already have, creates online spheres that can be dangerous for young people.
Men who lay out a narrative of ‘men fighting back against feminism’, have gained popularity online. Teenagers in their most developmental and impressionable years want a group to belong to.
When the internet promotes extreme narratives, lines such as “kill all men”, “men are trash”, and “f*ck men” are all pushed to the top of social media feeds. This causes young men who are highly involved in the social media sphere to feel alienated.
The general term for what I am referring to when talking of these communities of men online that believe they are being discriminated against is the “Manosphere”.
The Canadian Human Rights Museum defines the “manosphere” as groups of men operating online and offline. Many describe themselves as fighting against progressive ideas about gender equality. [6]
Manosphere influencers often assert “unfounded” ideas of men being naturally dominant. The result is a distortion of “biology and evolution to argue restrictive gender norms are natural”.
Young men who feel as though they are being discriminated against need to be shown that they can fight for the equality of men and women.
Men’s issues are still relevant and important. It is not a zero-sum game. To understand and debate inequality faced by women does not mean men are disregarded.
“This time of instability and change has given rise to a pervasive belief that gains in rights and power for women must mean men are losing out”
– Rachel Giese, Boys: What it Means to be a Man
For example, influences for these young men might cite figures such as suicide rates or workplace fatalities. In 2022 three quarters of suicides in the UK were men.[7] In 2022/23 96% of UK work fatalities were men. [8] In 2022 72% of homicide victims in the UK were men. [9]
These statistics are often framed with the idea that “men have it worse”. I think this framing drastically misunderstands that the issues men face are not separate from those that women face. The goal of feminism is to dismantle and dissolve the patriarchy.
The patriarchy is the social system in which men hold most if not all positions of power and are afforded more opportunities than women. Take the 7.7% gender pay gap which is worse for higher earners. [10]
The system in which men are held above women also is negative for men. No man needs to be told of social pressures including simple things such as not crying and showing pain; “Man up” is a phrase we have all heard.
However, this extends to more deep-rooted problems, such as violence as a show of strength, feeling lonely and lost when they do not look or act like a “man”, and feeling subordinate to a breadwinner partner.
When men feel lonely and isolated, to speak out is an insult to their pride, which makes it hard for men to seek the help they need. I argue these issues fuel the statistics mentioned above.
The high suicide rate in men is a result of poor mental health support and a social standard of not understanding one’s feelings. This pent-up confusion with nowhere to turn leads to violence, especially in young men, which leads to higher homicide victim rates.
The pride associated with “manliness” makes men more likely to take on dangerous jobs and tasks, without always asking for the necessary help and assistance.
I understand the issues that lead to these statistics are incredibly complicated. I do not claim that I have a full and detailed understanding of the social and economic causes of high male death in the UK. I have tried to set out one of the many social causes.
However, I do believe that the very aggressive framing set out by online “manosphere” ideas that “men have it worse. Look at these statistics!” is incredibly simple and does not consider any of the causes least not that of the patriarchy. They disregard the patriarchy as even existing and blame people (especially women) who seek to dismantle it.
The use of an “us vs them” paradigm that is presented to young men online today can be very dangerous, highly unskilful, and naïve. The perpetuation of the patriarchy has consequences for women and men.
Let me be clear, British women face disproportionate inequality in 2024. I began this article concerning the question, are men being discriminated against? In an attempt to outline to a large group of young men whom I encounter and know, that dismantling the patriarchy is not to the detriment of men, it is quite the opposite.
For the young man who has been drawn in by extreme online views:
While patriarchal influences and pressures are negative for both genders. Disproportionately women are materially, sexually, mentally, and domestically negatively affected. Make an attempt to understand the patriarchy and the effect it has on not just the women in your life but also yourself.
Having historically been in a position of power for so long as a man one must understand that equality may be uncomfortable or confusing, but this does not mean it is wrong.
Are we now discriminating against men? No. I believe this is the clear-cut answer. The people who are driving the narrative that men are being discriminated against are those who are playing on the insecurities and impressionable nature of young men. This is even despite men being much better off in the UK today than women.
How so? You might ask. I refer you back to the opening statements in this article and to the following paragraphs which will outline some of the reasons women are still facing inequality in the UK.
Why do Women Still face Inequality?
I will argue it is primarily a social issue.
Women make up 32% of members of the Houses of Lords and Commons. Is this because there are barriers in place that stop women from becoming members of parliament? No, because otherwise, there would be n0 women in parliament. Instead, the social conditioning under the patriarchy that we all go through upholds and perpetuates stereotypical roles and attitudes.
Take the obvious example of the similar-to-me effect, which is “a cognitive bias that explains our tendency to prefer people that look and think like us”. [11] Men who have held positions of power for so long are more likely to employ other men, not just other men but other men that are similar to them.
However, I will focus on examples from youth. I find these particularly potent and interesting. Not least because these are one’s most formative years but also because the information I am about to outline regards young people in Britain today. In other words, the future of our country.
I do not find it unreasonable to argue that the patriarchy enforces gender stereotypes from a young age. Men are told through toys and books that one day they can be big and manly, saving the day with a shiny sword.
While women are taught to be subordinate and pretty, ‘maybe one day she will be beautiful enough to marry a rich man’. Ann Oakley outlined this phenomenon, calling it “canalisation”, the socialisation of children through things such as toys that reinforce gender stereotypes.
Some may say this is hyperbolic and old-fashioned nonsense. This cannot be the case in the 21st century.
However, I was interested when my younger sister currently in her first year of college showed me some of her courses. There was an acute lack of female academics. This is not merely anecdotal. Only 2% of GCSE students in the UK study a book or novel written by a female author. [12] So, it comes as no surprise that in 2020 49% of adults in the UK cannot name a female scientist. [13]
Darker and more worrying, in 2014 59% of women ages 13-21 reported facing some sort of sexual harassment or abuse at school. [14] Or take the 2021 Ofsted review which found “evidence that peer-on-peer sexual harassment was commonplace in schools and that sexist language, behaviours and attitudes persisted unchallenged”. [15]
Or more simply children who are going for walks in parks and public spaces with their parents coming across a statue of a public figure. In the UK there are only 80 named female statues compared to 422 named male statues. [16]
These social cues and pressures make women more likely to internalise and subconsciously conform to the patriarchal idea that they should be subordinate.
The cases of sexual harassment within schools enforce the ideas for boys and girls that women are men’s sexual property. This internalises and normalises harassment and abuse of women.
Young women, like my two younger sisters, even in 2024, grow up in a country that subliminally tells them they are the second sex.
What Can You Do About It?
How then can you make a difference? Not just in helping to decrease inequality for women in the UK, but to help young men feel part of feminism. Part of a movement and ideology that will dismantle the patriarchal paradigm that perpetuates negative stereotypes of both genders.
As I have argued, the patriarchy is primarily upheld socially. To help dismantle this one must act within social settings. Of course, you cannot go to every school in the UK and lobby them to include more female authors, or introduce quotas for female members of parliament (well maybe you can, I don’t know who you are). For the average person, however, these are impossible.
Socially you can take a stand against sexist words and behaviours, challenging one another and debating with your friends and family. Especially for men who spend time with other men, very often sexist behaviour goes unchallenged and unchecked. Talk to your male friends, challenge their views, and stop casual harassment.
Take a look at yourself, what ideas and stereotypes might you have that you are unaware of? What unconscious biases might you have that influence the way you treat your family, friends, and yourself?
The inequality women face in the UK is incredibly important to question and talk about. Without a conversation, ideas and beliefs will go unchallenged.
The previously mentioned Ofsted review found that most children were not reporting the sexist behaviour that is rife in schools because it was seen as normal.
Ask yourself as you go about the rest of your day, do you want to live in a country where children grow up believing sexual harassment and assault towards women is normal and should go unchallenged?
Further Reading:
- Men that Hate Women, Laura Bates
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Men-Who-Hate-Women-misogyny/dp/1471194337
- Social Media and Democracy, Nathaniel Persily, Joshua A. Tucker:
- How to deal with sexism and smash the patriarchy, Marian Nakesa:
https://girlpowertalk.com/deal-with-sexism-and-smash-the-patriarchy/
Footnotes:
1. UK Parliament. Women in Politics and Public Life. 2024. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01250/
2. Gov.UK. Male and Female Populations. 2023. https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/demographics/male-and-female-populations/latest/
3. Ipsos. International Women’s Day 2024, Global attitudes towards women’s leadership. 2024.https://www.kcl.ac.uk/giwl/assets/iwd-2024-survey.pdf
4. Ofcom. Adult’s Media Use and Attitudes Report 2023. 2023.https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/255844/adults-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2023.pdf
5. Persily, N. A. Tucker, J. Social Media and Democracy. Social Media, Echo Chambers, and political polarization. Pp. 37
6. McCullough, S. Online Misogyny: the “manosphere”. 2023. Canadian Museum of Human Rights.https://humanrights.ca/story/online-misogyny-manosphere
7. Office for National Statistics. Suicides in England and Wales: 2022 registrations. 2022. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2022registrations#:~:text=Males%20continued%20to%20account%20for,rates%20between%202018%20and%202021
8. Health and Saftey Executive. Gender. 2023. https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/gender/index.htm
9. Office for National Statistics. Homicide in England and Wales: Year ending March 2022. 2022. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/homicideinenglandandwales/march2022
10. Office for National Statistics. 2023. Gender Pay Gap in the UK: 2023. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2023
11. The Decision Lab. The Similar-to-me effect. 2024. https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/psychology/the-similar-to-me-effect
12. Eden, J. End Sexism in Schools. Research Release: Pride and who? Jane where? Gender bias in GCSE English Literature. 2023. https://endsexisminschools.org.uk/gender-bias-gcse-english/
13. TeachFirst. With half the population unable to name a female scientist, Teach First argues STEMinism matters. 2020. https://www.teachfirst.org.uk/press-release/half-population-unable-name-female-scientist-teach-first-argues-steminism-matters
14. UK Parliament. Attitudes Towards Women and Girls in Educational Settings. 2023. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/331/report.html#heading-1
15. UK Parliament. Attitudes Towards Women and Girls in Educational Settings. 2023. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/331/report.html#heading-1
16. Amess, D. Hansard. UK Parliament. 2020. Public Statues.https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-09-25/debates/D02DF3E1-DFA7-4736-B943-51824CFFB00F/PublicStatues#:~:text=Recent%20data%20from%20the%20Public,of%20men%2C%20422%20are%20named.
