Male Drift in Stats
Male drift defined - the decline of male success marked by increased suicide, lower college enrollment, and decline in employment and earning capacity.
Here’s a quick tl;dr of some of the most current data (with sources) as it relates to the situation for men today. While the data can be quickly digested in this format, the signal that something is wrong is hard to ignore.
Suicide Rates:
Men have significantly higher suicide rates compared to women. In 2021, the suicide rate among males was approximately four times higher than that of females, with males comprising about 80% of all suicides. The suicide rate for males was 22.8 per 100,000, compared to 5.7 for females. [Source]
College Enrollment and Completion:
There is a notable crisis in college enrollment and completion for men. Enrollment rates have been declining over the past decade, primarily driven by a decrease in male enrollment. In 2020, male enrollment in postsecondary institutions was only 41%, marking a significant decline.
Not only are men less likely to enroll in college compared to women, but they are also less likely to graduate. For instance, men who enrolled in a four-year college in 2013 were ten percentage points less likely than women to graduate within four years. Over time, there has been a consistent pattern of fewer men graduating with bachelor's, associate's, or master's degrees relative to women.
To put context to how severe these gaps currently are, when Title 9 was created in 1972, there was a 13% gap in four-year degree attainment between men and women, with men leading. Now, it’s 15% more likely that a woman will get a 4-year degree than a man. According to Richard Reeves, “The gender inequality in US higher education is wider today than in 1972 when Title IX was passed, it’s just the other way around.” [Source] [Source]
Employment and Income
In 2019 a study compared married men to unmarried men and found that the married men had an average income that was about 58% higher than unmarried men that are currently available to unmarried women. The married men were also 30% more likely to be employed (90% vs. 70%) and 19% more likely to have a college degree (30% vs. 25%). [Source]
The Dating Gap
The differences between married and unmarried men in employment and income could indicate a link to the recent emerging trends of male loneliness, and dating. Single men represent about 62% of dating app users, which lowers their chances for matches. And to add pressure, in a recent study, women persist in demonstrating they choose to marry men who earn better than they do, even when both partners have higher education degrees. [Source] [Source]
I am Heather Harmon, and I endeavor to sit at the intersection of gender differences, the environment and spirituality to hold space for the prickly conversations there simply aren’t words for, and draw out a language that we can all begin to lean into, for meaningful change. If you find yourself wanting to support this work, please follow me on social media, visit my website to sign up for a survey, and choose to subscribe for $50/year to this Substack. Current goal: interview 1000 men and conduct 10,000 surveys of men about what it is like being a man today - to obtain meaningful insights for a positive outcome for our species.