An Unrecognized Gender Divide Is Affecting Men and Boys in Colombia

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

An Unrecognized Gender Divide Is Affecting Men and Boys in Colombia

December 23, 2025 – National indicators in Colombia point to a sustained pattern of challenges encountered by men and boys across education, health, safety, and employment.

Education:
Colombia’s education data shows a consistent and widening gender gap that is disadvantaging boys. While 87.4% of girls complete lower secondary school, only 78.8% of boys do so (1). At the tertiary level, women make up 52% of first-time entrants (2), with enrollment rates of 64.3% for women compared to 54.4% for men (3), producing a female-to-male ratio of 1.15 (4). Completion outcomes reinforce this pattern: 49% of women finish tertiary education within three years of the expected end date, versus just 37% of men (5).

Health:
Health outcomes reveal a pronounced male disadvantage. Life expectancy for men is 74.95 years, compared to 80.45 years for women (6). Adult mortality rates further highlight this gap, reaching 122.7 deaths per 1,000 men—nearly double the female rate of 66.2 per 1,000 (7).

Homicide:
Lethal violence overwhelmingly affects men. Colombia’s homicide rate for men is 46.95 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to just 3.44 per 100,000 for women (8).

Suicide:
Suicide data show a stark gender imbalance. Men die by suicide at a rate of 7.9 per 100,000 population, nearly four times the female rate of 2.1 per 100,000 (9)(10).

Homelessness:
National estimates report 34,091 people experiencing homelessness in Colombia, or 0.07% of the population. Men account for 90% of this population, while women represent only 10%, revealing a severe gender imbalance in housing instability (12).

Workplace:
Workplace safety statistics show extreme risk concentration among men, who account for 97.31% of all fatal workplace accidents nationwide (13).

Conclusion:
Colombia’s data clearly demonstrate the urgent need for evidence-based policies that recognize and address the systemic disadvantages facing men and boys.

The International Council for Men and Boys (ICMB) 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. ICMB has conducted analyses of male disadvantage in over 50 countries around the world. These analyses are available here: https://www.menandboys.net/country/

Links:

1.https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/economies/colombia#:~:text=87.4%25%20of%20girls%20and%2078.8,education%20regardless%20of%20age%20completed

2.https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/economies/colombia#:~:text=87.4%25%20of%20girls%20and%2078.8,education%20regardless%20of%20age%20completed

3. https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/se-ter-enrr?gender=male

4.Colombia Female to male ratio, students at tertiary level education – data, chart | TheGlobalEconomy.com

5.https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=COL&treshold=10&topic=EO#:~:text=Bachelor’s%20completion%20rates%20are%20very,to%20display%20and%20customise%20them

6.https://www.statista.com/statistics/970558/life-expectancy-at-birth-in-colombia-by-gender/?srsltid=AfmBOopfhoIqkLT7jH9vzhOKe8MfJybFxN6EdvIMPH507MmnYo5NX-8R

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

8.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide_statistics_by_gender

9.https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.MA.P5?locations=CO

10.https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.FE.P5?locations=CO

11.https://saludata.saludcapital.gov.co/osb/indicadores/violencia-intrafamiliar/?utm