PRESS RELEASE

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

Urgent Gaps in Health, Education, and Well-Being for Men and Boys in Bermuda

December 5, 2025 – Bermuda is facing a growing crisis for men and boys, but the scale of these disparities has remained largely unseen.  They require public recognition and policy attention that these issues have long lacked.

Education:
Newly released data show men falling behind at every stage of higher education. In 2023, tertiary enrollment climbed to 20.9% for females but only 13.9% for males (1), with a female-to-male enrollment ratio of 1.33 (2). Among adults aged 25 to 64, 40% of women hold a university degree compared with 31% of men—figures that underscore the structural challenges contributing to men’s lower engagement and completion rates (3).

Health:
Bermuda’s health indicators reveal a sharp divide in outcomes. Life expectancy has reached 85.74 years for women, compared with just 78.86 years for men (4). Adult mortality rates mirror this imbalance: 83.8 deaths per 1,000 men versus 46.7 per 1,000 women, highlighting systemic barriers disproportionately affecting men’s longevity (5).

Homicide:
Male victimization remains starkly higher. The most recent data from 2016 show a homicide rate of 27.236 per 100,000 for men, with an average of 16.54 since 2004. Female homicide rates, by contrast, have remained at 0.0 in most years, with a peak of 6.0 in 2011. Bermuda’s long-term pattern is unmistakable—homicide overwhelmingly affects men (6).

Suicide:
Suicide rates also diverge sharply: 3.10 per 100,000 for men compared with 0.73 for women (7).

Child Custody:
Latest statistics show that after divorce or separation, 85% of child custody cases are awarded to women (8).

Homelessness:
Bermuda’s census reports that 88% of Bermuda’s homeless population is male (9).

Conclusion:
We urge Bermuda’s leaders to acknowledge these disparities and take meaningful action to ensure that men and boys are no longer left behind.

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://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/se-ter-enrr
  2. https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Bermuda/Female_to_male_ratio_students_tertiary_level_educa/#:~:text=Bermuda:%20Ratio%20of%20female%20to%20male%20students,from%201979%20to%202023%20is%201.4%20percent.
  3. https://www.gov.bm/sites/default/files/2016-Population-and-Housing-Census-Education-Brief.pdf
  4. https://www.statista.com/statistics/970453/life-expectancy-at-birth-in-bermuda-by-gender/#:~:text=Table_title:%20Bermuda:%20Life%20expectancy%20at%20birth%20from,expectancy%20of%20men%20at%20birth:%2077.82%20%7C
  5. https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/sp-dyn-amrt?gender=male
  6. https://www.ceicdata.com/en/bermuda/health-statistics?utm
  7. https://www.paho.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/suicide-mortality-americas-regional-rep-2014.pdf?utm
  8. https://www.saveservices.org/2022/12/5836/?utm
  9. https://www.gov.bm/sites/default/files/Chief%20Medical%20Officer%E2%80%99s%20Annual%20Report%202023.pdf