Raising the Bar, Not Walls

For centuries, women were systematically excluded from education, financial independence, and political voice. The global movement to empower women by dismantling these barriers and affirming their right to equality has been one of humanity’s most transformative moral achievements. Today, girls are encouraged to lead, speak boldly, and shatter glass ceilings. Women have reshaped industries, governments, and cultural narratives. This has proven that societies thrive when half their population is no longer sidelined. The goal was never to invert hierarchies but to dissolve them, creating a world where both genders enjoy equal opportunities to flourish.

Yet, as we rightfully celebrate these strides, an unintended consequence has emerged. We have unknowingly created a generation of young men who feel culturally adrift. The same systems that once suppressed women are now at risk of stifling men, not through malice but through neglect. Boys are growing up in a world where traditional markers of masculinity are often framed as problematic, while new models of “acceptable” male behavior remain ill-defined. The result? Many young men feel unanchored and are caught between outdated stereotypes and a society that struggles to articulate what healthy, modern masculinity looks like.

Let's consider education. Girls now outperform boys in high school graduation rates and university enrollment in many countries, including here in Ghana, the U.S., Canada, and the UK. While this reflects hard-won progress for women, it also highlights a growing gender gap in academic engagement among boys. Classroom environments, which are often tailored to collaborative learning, can inadvertently sideline the developmental needs of boys. Similarly, pop culture increasingly portrays men as bumbling sidekicks or toxic antagonists while women are depicted as competent heroes. Even though this is a well-intentioned correction of past sexism, it leaves boys with few aspirational role models.

Even celebrations of gender equality sometimes exclude men. International Women’s Day, which was celebrated currently garners global attention, but where are the parallel initiatives addressing rising male suicide rates, workplace fatalities (the majority of which are men), or the loneliness epidemic among young men? Empowerment, when framed as a zero-sum game, risks leaving half the population behind.

This is not a call to slow women’s progress. It is a plea to expand the conversation. Just as women were empowered to break free from limiting norms, men deserve support to redefine strength beyond stoicism or dominance. Healthy masculinity can embrace vulnerability, empathy, and partnership; these are qualities that are critical in a world where collaboration, not brute force, drives success.

We need deliberate efforts to achieve this. Education reforms must address learning styles for boys without compromising opportunities for girls. Media narratives must also celebrate compassionate male role models. There should be a deliberate attempt for mental health resources tailored to men that destigmatize help-seeking behavior. Workplace policies should support men as caregivers and women as leaders, and hopefully, this will dismantle the “breadwinner” trap.

True equality isn’t a seesaw; it’s a bridge. Women must continue to be empowered, but men must also be equipped to walk alongside them, not as rivals but as partners. The future belongs not to “winners” or “losers” of gender but to societies that uplift everyone.