Sexism against men in global institutions
This is the eighth blog in the series The 12 blogs of Christmas based on the Psychreg Journal of Psychology (PJP) special issue on male psychology
The eighth blog in this series will come as quite a revelation to many people. We tend to think that global institutions like the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) promote gender equality, so that when one gender – presumably women – is missing out on something, the UN and WHO will step in and make things more equal.
However the reality is that in many countries a health paradox exists. For example, in the US, men do worse than women on many serious physical and mental health outcomes, yet in many ways priority is given to women’s health rather than men’s.
The focus of the present paper, by exercise psychologist Dr James Nuzzo, is the way in which the UN and WHO show a bias away from men’s issues. Nuzzo gives six lines of evidence on this, from the fact that the UN’s sustainable development goal on‘gender equality’ is exclusive to women, to the fact that the UN has 69 Twitter accounts dedicated to women’s issues, but none for men’s issues.
For those of you who thought the UN and WHO were without bias, this paper is an opportunity for you to have a rethink in the light of the facts.
Tomorrow’s blog is a powerful account of the relevance of male psychology to modern South Africa.
In case your holiday season is less than happy, here are some places you can contact for support:
Samaritans lines are open 24/7 (365 days) Tel 116 123 (UK & Ireland)
CALM helpline is open 365 days 5pm - midnight. Tel 0800 58 58 58. Or try the CALM webchat https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/get-help/
If you are a father experiencing a stressful time post-separation, you can call the Families Need Fathers helpline 0300 0330 363 (9am - 10pm Monday to Friday, 10am - 3pm at weekends).
If you are a man experiencing domestic abuse, you can call the Mankind Initiative helpline weekdays 10am to 4pm on 01823 334244
Dr John A. Barry is a Chartered Psychologist and Professional Researcher. He is a leading expert in the areas of male psychology including men’s mental health and the psychological aspects of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). His new book, Perspectives in Male Psychology: An Introduction (ISBN: 978-1-119-68535-7), co-authored with Louise Liddon, is published in the new year and is available to pre-order now.
