I met Richard Reeves at the PR Seminar in June in Savannah. He is the founder of the American Institute for Boys and Men, launched after a decade at the Brookings Institution, and the author of Of Boys and Men, which argues that supporting young men and boys is essential to true equality. As Reeves puts it, “we can do more for boys and men without doing less for women and girls.” He also warns that “the sense of male obsolescence is growing, along with signs of failure and alienation,” particularly lower down the social order. This view mirrors reporting that came out after the 2024 Presidential election, which found young men across races felt overlooked and economically stressed, factors that shaped their votes. A key finding from the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer underscores this theme: 57 percent of men aged 18-34 support hostile activism as a means to bring about change.
Reeves provides some compelling statistics:
- The gender gap in education has flipped. Men now earn 42 percent of college degrees, a complete reversal in the past 50 years.
- The risk of suicide for boys and men is four times higher than for girls; it has increased by 40 percent since 2010.
- There are more working-class men than women (men 64 percent, women 57 percent. This has changed fundamentally since 1980 when 85 percent of women were working class versus 75 percent of men. The large majority of Latino (81 percent) and Black (77 percent) males are working class.
- Employment among working-class men has fallen from 90 percent in 1979 to 81 percent in 2024, while women’s employment has risen from 55 percent to 68 percent. White working-class employment declined from 91 percent to 82 percent, and Black male employment from 79 percent to 73 percent. In total, 9 million working-age men are out of work.
- The average wage for working-class men has stagnated in the past 45 years at $852 per week, while the weekly wage for working-class women has gone up from $503 to $667 per week.
Reeves wants to reframe the narrative around young men. He is joined in this by former President Barack Obama, who was just on a podcast with his wife Michelle and brother-in-law Craig Robinson, where he said, “We’re constantly talking about what’s wrong with boys instead of what’s right with them.” Reeves goes on to assert that the term “toxic masculinity” is being used indiscriminately and that there are male traits that are a function of biology, not just socialization.
Obama and Reeves agree that there is important space for male solidarity. The former President said, “Having male friends I could talk to and count on was important in my life.” Obama hosted Camp Athlon at Camp David, a multi-sport, middle-aged male Olympics every year for his staff.
Males should feel good about going into fast growing professions according to Reeves, such as health, education, literacy and administration. These have been female professions with stigma for males; that stereotyping must end.
Reeves also wants significant investment in mental health and education for boys and men. Reeves writes, “One of the primary functions of human culture is to help young people to become responsible adults…To be grown up means learning how to temper our own natures…Boys become men, even gentlemen. The boy is still with us, just not in charge anymore.”
As a concluding thought, Reeves asks you to consider shifting the mental frame from “men are the problem to men having problems.” Male identity has been linked to having a good job and providing for the family. With globalization and deindustrialization, men have lost the provider status, with women picking up that responsibility. President Obama notes, “As a society we must make sure that men don’t feel redundant and that there’s not a place for them.” As the father of three daughters, I want their partners to be strong and confident, products of intentional investment in boys and young men.
Richard Edelman is CEO.
