PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Henry Herrera
Telephone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: info@menandboys.net
After 50 Years of UN ‘Gender Equality’ Advocacy, a New Report Still Excludes Boys and Men
July 15th, 2026 — In 1945, the United Nations Charter set out the organization’s purpose. The preamble reaffirms its faith “in the equal rights of men and women.” (1) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1, extends that promise: “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” (2)
A new scholarly report measures the UN against a narrower standard. “Where the future was built: Fifty years of feminist advocacy at the United Nations” celebrates 50 years of UN advocacy for women, from 1975 to 2025. (3) Its history is detailed. Yet it never asks how boys and men have fared under the Charter’s promise over those same 50 years. (3)
The authors disclose that they are “employed as full-time staff and consultants by the United Nations Foundation.” The Gates Foundation funded the work. (3)
The International Council for Men and Boys does not dispute the report’s recollection of events. Rather, the Council disputes the frame. ICMB has documented 12 areas of male disparity. (4) The most consequential include:
- Education — boys are more likely than girls to repeat grades in 130 of 142 countries (5)
- Health — men die by suicide at more than twice the rate of women (6)
- Victims of violence — about 80% of the world’s homicide victims are men and boys (7)
- Workplace deaths — men die from work-related incidents at three times the rate of women (8)
The other documented areas are the boy crisis, false allegations, equal shared parenting, the criminal justice system, intimate partner violence, homelessness, adoption and reproductive rights, and media portrayals of men. (4)
How did the United Nations end up taking such a one-sided and flawed approach — one that addresses only women’s issues? Over five decades, one sex’s disadvantages were named, measured, funded, and afforded a dedicated home — UN Women. (3) Boys and men received no comparable attention. (3)
A rising tide lifts every boat. Addressing male disparity takes nothing from women and girls — it completes the promise the Charter made in 1945. (1) At a minimum, ICMB urges the UN to:
- Report outcomes for boys and men alongside those for women and girls, across its major indicators
- Include male disparity within the mandate of its existing gender bodies
- Establish a standing UN focal point for men and boys
The next 50 years of UN human-rights work will invite a simple test: Does it serve all the groups that are named in its Charter?
The International Council for Men and Boys is a non-governmental organization working to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys worldwide. The ICMB is a leader of the emerging global movement to address these disparities. https://www.menandboys.net/
Links:
(1) https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/preamble
(2) https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
(3) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13552074.2026.2620250
(4) https://menandboys.net
(5) https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/leave-no-child-behind-global-report-boys-disengagement-education
(6) https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240110069
(7) https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/gsh/2023/GSH23_Special_Points.pdf
(8) https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/nearly-3-million-people-die-work-related-accidents-and-diseases
