The Lost Boys Report by the Centre for Social Justice, a Centre Right Think Tank co-founded in 2004 by Iain Duncan Smith, Tim Montgomerie, and Philippa Stroud, is a welcome addition to the discussion on inclusion and equity. There is a distinct need to talk about the issues affecting men, provided it's done in a nuanced way that doesn't actually ferment more division, which I fear the subtext of this report may do or, at the very least, be used to do.
I fear that the report will be used as a tool by those who wish to reinforce the zero-sum argument and push back against women's equality work. The opening line on the website here – “Boys and young men are in crisis. Whilst the last hundred years have been marked by great leaps forward in outcomes and rights for women, in this generation it is boys who are being left behind. And by some margin.” – is not only reductionist but also inflames that zero-sum position.
The reality is that we need to talk about issues affecting men and women, or can I be provocative and simply say ‘people’? We must do this through an intersectional lens that recognises that the issues at hand are not reducible to gender alone. We need to consider class, race, age, religion, whether people are disabled by society of not, neurodiversity, etc at the same time to properly understand the issues and seek solutions to them. Some of the presentation of the data in this report does not do that.
For example, the data about the gender pay gap being reversed in the report only applies to the 16 - 24 year old age group and is not contextualised by pointing out that the gap has always been narrow in younger people but remains significantly in favour of White men over the age of 40. Much of this is to do with men dominating senior positions, which are further out of reach for working-class men than for middle-class White women. So, whilst younger women may be earning more than younger men, it is actually (and still) White, middle-class men who are earning more than everybody – it is not simply a gender thing!
To really progress inclusion and equality for all, we need to create spaces for collective, critical dialogue that explores all these aspects with the appropriate nuance and sophistication yet in a way that includes all voices and experiences.
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