PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Henry Herrera
Phone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: info@menandboys.net

A Call for Change: Addressing the Gaps for Men and Boys in Ghana

May 16, 2025 – Men and boys in Ghana are facing increasing challenges in areas such as education, health, and exposure to violence. These disparities are growing and urgently require a shift towards more inclusive and balanced solutions.

Education:
Only 74.5% of men aged 15 and older are literate, compared to 79% of women. In early education, 90.52% of girls participate one year before the official primary age, versus just 79.19% of boys (1). These gaps suggest boys are at risk from the start of their academic journey.

Health:
Women in Ghana live nearly five years longer than men—67.94 years versus 63.13 (2)(3). Adult mortality is also higher for men: 267.4 deaths per 1,000 compared to 192.8 for women (4).

Homicide:
Men in Ghana are around 3 times more likely to be homicide victims than women—3.1 versus 0.6 per 100,000 people (5).

Suicide:
In 2019, 1,816 men died by suicide versus 177 women—putting the male suicide rate at over 10 times higher than that of females (6).

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV):
A recent study found that 41% of partnered male employees in Ghana experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) in the last 12 months (7). In comparison, 36.4% of women in Ghana reported experiencing IPV (8), showing that both men and women are victims of this issue

Homelessness:
In 2024, 3.5 million men lived in extreme poverty. which represents a slightly larger proportion than women (3.3 million), yet men affected by homelessness often receive far less public attention or support (9).

Workplace:
In Ghana’s construction industry, 97.7% of workers are male, and 88% report experiencing injuries, with most having had more than one incident in the past year. (10).

Conclusion:
To move toward genuine gender equality, Ghana must confront these often-ignored challenges affecting its male population and ensure that policies reflect the needs of all citizens.

The International Council for Men and Boys is a non-governmental organization that is working to celebrate the contributions of men to society and to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys around the world. Achieving #GenderEqualityForMen also will benefit women. https://www.menandboys.net/

Links:

1.https://data.unwomen.org/country/ghana

2.https://tradingeconomics.com/ghana/life-expectancy-at-birth-female-years-wb-data.html

3.https://tradingeconomics.com/ghana/life-expectancy-at-birth-male-years-wb-data.html

4.https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/sp-dyn-amrt?gender=male

5.https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/vc-ihr-psrc-p5?gender=male

6.https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-024-18516-8#:~:text=In%20Ghana%2C%206.6%20individuals%20per,11%2C12%2C13%5D

7.https://jech.bmj.com/content/75/Suppl_1/A86.2

8.https://www.ids.ac.uk/projects/domestic-violence-in-ghana-prevalence-incidence-and-causes/#:~:text=Although%20a%20lot%20of%20research,some%20point%20during%20their%20lives%20

9.https://www.statista.com/statistics/1439977/number-of-individuals-living-in-extreme-poverty-in-ghana-by-gender/#:~:text=People%20living%20in%20extreme%20poverty%20in%20Ghana%202016%2D2026%2C%20by%20gender&text=In%202024%2C%20an%20estimated%206.9,in%20Ghana%20as%20of%202024

10. https://journal.gcps.edu.gh/index.php/pmjg/article/view/338?utm

11.IWD: Gender bias, others preventing women’s participation in construction sector | Ghana News Agency