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

Persistent Inequalities Threaten the Well-being of Men and Boys in the Czech Republic

October 31, 2025 – A growing body of evidence reveals that men and boys in the Czech Republic face persistent and often overlooked inequalities in education, health, and social well-being. Despite national progress in other areas, these gaps continue to widen, calling for renewed attention and balanced action.

Education:
The Czech Republic’s universities show a gender divide. Women are more represented in higher education—22% of women aged 20–29 are enrolled, compared to 17% of men (1). The gender parity index stands at 1.29, meaning significantly more women pursue higher education (2). This gap persists into adulthood: 41% of women aged 30–34 hold tertiary degrees versus only 27% of men (3).

Health:
Life expectancy also favors women—83.1 years compared to 77.2 for men, a difference of nearly six years (4). The adult mortality rate for men, 126.9 deaths per 1,000 adults, is more than double that of women at 61.3 (5).

Suicide:
Men are at far greater risk. The male suicide rate is 21.2 per 100,000—nearly four times the female rate of 5.7 (6)(7).

Child Custody:
Following divorce, 77% of minors remain with their mothers, just 7% with fathers, and 16% in equal shared custody (8).

Homelessness:
An estimated 68,500 people are homeless in Czechia; 74.4% are male and 23.6% female (9).

Workplace:
Men face greater danger at work. Non-fatal injuries affect 12.5% of men versus 9.9% of women, largely due to men’s dominance in high-risk sectors like construction and mining (10).

Conclusion:
Addressing these disparities is essential for achieving genuine equality and social progress in the Czech Republic.

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 will also benefit women.
https://www.menandboys.net/

Links:

1.https://csu.gov.cz/tertiary-education?pocet=10&start=0&podskupiny=232&razeni=-datumVydani

2.https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Czech-Republic/Female_to_male_ratio_students_tertiary_level_educa/#:~:text=Ratio%20of%20female%20to%20male,in%20public%20and%20private%20schools.

3.https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2019/domain/knowledge/CZ#:~:text=The%20share%20of%20tertiary%20graduates,%25%20to%2018%20%25%20for%20men

4.https://csu.gov.cz/deaths-life-expectancy-causes-of-death?pocet=10&start=0&podskupiny=134&razeni=-datumVydani

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

6.https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.MA.P5

7.https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.FE.P5

8.https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-25838-2_12#:~:text=In%202016%20in%20the%20Czech%20Republic%2C%20looking,reliable%20data%20about%20broken%20cohabitations%20is%20available

9.https://www.feantsa.org/download/cz-country-profile-2018473397835719963696.pdf

10.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2989029/#:~:text=Results:%20The%20period%20prevalence%20of,drinking%20frequency%20and%20problem%20drinking