PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Henry Herrera
Phone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: info@menandboys.net
Persistent Gender Gaps Affect Men and Boys in Iran
January 30, 2026 – Ignoring gender disparities affecting men and boys has real human cost, and Iran’s data show men and boys face higher risks and poorer outcomes across multiple areas of life.
Education:
Higher education data show a sustained gender imbalance. Women have comprised over 60% of university students since the early 2000s, represented 63% of applicants in the 2023 entrance exam, and account for approximately 70% of STEM graduates—the highest share globally. In the first round of the 2025 National University Entrance Exam, 957,798 individuals registered, including 608,017 women and 349,781 men, reflecting a substantial participation gap disadvantaging men (1)(2).
Health:
National health indicators reveal a pronounced male disadvantage. Male life expectancy stands at 75.79 years compared to 79.63 years for women (3), while adult mortality rates for men are nearly double, at 107.7 deaths per 1,000 adults versus 54.8 for women (4).
Child Labor:
Available data indicate that approximately 80% of child laborers are boys, compared to 20% girls, pointing a gender imbalance that disproportionately burdens male children (5).
Homicide:
Homicide statistics show men experience 4.12 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 0.56 for women (6).
Suicide:
Suicide mortality rates further reflect this disparity, with men experiencing 5.8 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 2.3 for women (7)(8).
Homelessness:
In Tehran, cited estimates indicate that of approximately 15,000 homeless individuals, around 10,000 are men, a significant gender imbalance in housing insecurity (9).
Workplace:
According to Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization, 2024 data reflect an average of roughly 180 workplace deaths per month—approximately 45 per week. From March to September, the vast majority of victims were male (1,066), only 11 female (10).
Conclusion:
Iran should explicitly recognize and address the systemic risks facing men and boys.
The International Council for Men and Boys (ICMB) is a non-governmental organization working to celebrate the contributions of men to society and to end the 12 sex-based disparities affecting men and boys worldwide. ICMB has conducted analyses of male disadvantage in more than 50 countries, available at https://www.menandboys.net/country/.
1.https://grokipedia.com/page/Women%27s_rights_in_Iran
4.https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/sp-dyn-amrt?gender=male
5.https://www.allmultidisciplinaryjournal.com/uploads/archives/20240708193452_A-24-190.1.pdf?utm
6.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide_statistics_by_gender
7.https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.MA.P5
8.https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.FE.P5