Young Men Struggle As Girls Surge Ahead in Education, Work: Report
Quick Reads
Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed.
Trends of gender performance gaps are noted in the US education system.
Research indicates boys struggle with education, mental health, and adulthood.
Men’s labor force participation has declined, while women’s has significantly in
For years, a consistent trend has emerged in educational outcomes: girls outperforming boys in school board examinations. This pattern is evident in the 2025 CBSE results, where girls surpassed boys by 2.04 percentage points in Class 10 and 6.4 percentage points in Class 12. Similar disparities are observed across various Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab.
Interestingly this gender performance gap seen in Indian school education isn’t confined to India; it has parallels in the US, where it affects not just academics but also mental health and the transition to adulthood.
A news article by The New York Times which was based on multiple surveys, highlights that boys and young men are increasingly facing challenges in educational achievement, mental well-being, and adapting to adult responsibilities, while their female counterparts continue to advance. Experts attribute this divergence to a combination of economic and social factors reshaping the trajectories of young men.
As per the report, in the United States, researchers say several economic and social changes have combined to change boys’ and men’s trajectories. School has changed in ways that favour girls, and work has changed in ways that favour women. Boys are often seen as troublemakers, and men have heard that masculinity is “toxic”.
Young people themselves tend to agree that girls are now at least equal to – and often doing better than – boys. Many young men say they feel unmoored and undervalued, and parents and adults who work with children are worried about boys. It’s not just a feeling: there’s a wealth of data that shows that boys and young men are stagnating.
According to The New York Times, women outnumber men in college enrolment, correlating with improved career opportunities and higher earnings. Mental health is declining among young people, affecting boys and girls differently. Job markets have also shifted, with men losing ground in disappearing manual labour roles while women dominate the growing service sector.
The NYT also notes a decline in labour force participation among men aged 25 to 54, dropping from 94% in 1975 to 89% currently. Conversely, labour force participation among women in the same age group has risen dramatically, from 55% to 78%.
