Men across Massachusetts — particularly Black and Latino men — are falling behind economically and academically and even physically, according to a new statewide report issued Thursday.
Boston Indicators — the research arm of the Boston Foundation — and the newly-created The American Institute for Boys and Men gathered data on physical health, mental health, education, wages and the economy through the lens of gender.
The report found that life expectancy for white Massachusetts men is about 78 years; for white women it’s 83. But Black men have a life expectancy of only 73 years. In economic terms, Black and Hispanic men “earn 35 percent to 45 percent less than white men,” the report found, and men are less likely to achieve college degrees than women — another factor that is worse for men of color.
Other findings include that boys graduate from high school at lower rates than girls, particularly in lower-income districts; only one in four health care jobs are held by men; and men are less likely to have health insurance.
Luc Schuster, executive director for the Boston Indicators, says the results in part stem from the fact that there has been a shift in the occupational structure of the economy. Traditionally male-dominated jobs in fields like manufacturing have been declining, while men have shied away from fields that have staffing shortages, like nursing, education and service.
He suggested one of the solutions is to support a cultural shift in the types of jobs young men are willing to consider taking. “Could we both help those young men at an individual level shift into a good paying, middle class job, but also help provide the labor that we need for the economy overall?”
Schuster said there needs to be a cultural conversation around what it means to be a man in the United States in the 21st century. Without it, Schuster says “we are ceding that conversation to more reactionary voices that are very directly pushing for a return to rigid gender roles. And, I think we’ve seen the rise of things like the 'manosphere’ podcasts that are really attractive to young men.”
Schuster noted the finding that while girls and women experience higher rates of depression, men account for almost three quarters of suicide deaths in Massachusetts.
“I think there’s a whole lot behind a big trend like that,” Schuster said. “But it’s clear that part of it has to do with social isolation among middle aged men.”
That social isolation, according to the data, could come from many different sources. The report found that girls take part in more organized activities than men and also do more volunteer work, community service or unpaid caregiving of some sort. That isolation begins in boyhood and carries over into adulthood, the report says.
“This report is one small attempt to start a new conversation in, you know, blue cities like Boston around what might be a positive vision for men in the 21st century,” Schuster said.
Carl Miranda, director of ROCA Boston, an organization focused on working with people at the center of urban violence, was in attendance Thursday to hear the findings.
“I didn’t have a pulse on the nature of the gaps. I think it brings a new kind of vigor,” Miranda said. “And I talked to the young men that we serve. And it brings maybe a bird’s eye view lens. It brings a moral imperative to it. And it invigorates maybe the things I’ll communicate to my staff about our young men.”
