Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joins the boys and men party
Governors and state-level leaders are setting the pace
I wrote last week about a big statement from Gov. Wes Moore about focusing on boys and men, and similar positive signs from other governors. I’m also hearing from a couple of state education commissioners about work to increase the share of male teachers and other initiatives to improve outcomes for boys. This is awesome!
Now Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has set out her stall. In her own State of the State address she tackled the issue head-on:
My message tonight goes out to all young people, but especially our young men. I know it’s hard to get ahead right now. But I promise you, no matter how hard life might get, there is always a way out and a way up.
The last thing any of us wants is a generation of young men falling behind their fathers and grandfathers. I’ve heard most about this issue from moms, who love their sons and are worried about them.
And to the women out there who are succeeding after decades of having the deck stacked against them, I see your resilience and I want you to know that I will never abandon my commitment to equal opportunity and dignity for everyone.
Generations of our moms and grandmas fought hard for the economic rights and personal freedoms we enjoy today. They made our lives easier, and our responsibility to our sons and daughters is to build a state where they can all succeed. As a mom of 2 smart, driven young women and stepmom to 3 successful young men, I know that their success is connected to the success of their peers… all of their peers.
In Michigan—men and women—want to protect and provide for their families… be financially successful… and be good role models.
Where Whitmer went further than others was in highlighting specific areas where young men are falling behind, and by taking some immediate action.
First, in housing, she focused on the challenges of affordability and the difficulties of getting on the housing ladder, but then drew attention to the gender gap:
Our young people are suffering the most… but I want to call attention to the fact that this crisis disproportionately impacts young, single men. They buy just 8% of homes sold today, compared to single women, who buy 20%.
This is not just an issue in Michigan. But it’s rare indeed to hear a politician, especially a Democrat, drawing attention to it. But she wasn’t done. Whitmer then turned to higher education:
Just like with housing, there’s a gender gap in higher education. Women outnumber men at community colleges, universities, and most of all, in Michigan Reconnect, where enrollment is 2-1, women to men. We’ve built great programs open to everyone, but we need to do a better job of getting more young men signed up.
That’s why, soon, I’m signing an executive directive that will make an effort to reach more young men and boost their enrollment in our higher education and skills training programs.
This is such a great moment. Whitmer:
a) noticed the gender gap
b) highlighted it in a major speech
c) took executive action to address it
I’d like her to have added one more “H” to housing and higher education: health. After all, drug deaths among men in Michigan have increased seven-fold since 2002. But at this point I’m just getting greedy.
The press noticed the signifiance of Whitmer’s move. Here’s the headline on the main AP article on her speech:
Whitmer’s move is particularly striking given her reputation as a fierce advocate for women’s rights. She joins women like Melinda French Gates in recognizing that this is not a zero-sum game, that we need to do more for both young women and young men.
It may not be a coincidence that the Democrat politicians raising the issue are among those often listed as potential presidential candidates for 2028: Whitmer, Moore, Murphy…
But the reaction from Whitmer’s political rivals in her state was also on-point. Republican House Speaker Matt Hall said: “The rhetoric is great, but the record has to match that”.
Hall is right. Having made this important statement, let’s see Whitmer follow up with programs to increase the share of male teachers, boost boys’ achievement at school, invest more in CTE and apprenticeships, streamline family courts, encourage take-up of paternity leave, tackle male suicide and drug overdose, boost sports participation among boys..and so much more. But as I noted above, she’s already made a start on the higher education front.
It’s great to see senior politicians highlighting their commitment to this issue. I’m excited to see this translate into action. Me and the AIBM team are here to help!
George Williams, The Founder of the YMCA in 1844 in London, England and set the stage for a global Movement that now serves in 120 countries said it best: 🏴
“It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of giving young men a full opportunity to develop their spiritual and intellectual faculties.”
So we go back to the origin story…. there is so much history to demonstrate WHY this is so important. 👈🏾
Bravo to Governors Gretchen Witmer and Gov. Wes Moore. 👏🏾👏🏾
We head to 70 cities and 20 states. 🇺🇸
#ymca #boysandmen #sankoa #ymcaarchives #createauseablepast #startwithhistory #economicmobility 🛖
Thank you for the post Richard V. Reeves! ♟️
The responses to this article are interesting and telling of the society we live in today and why it needs to change. Women, people of color, lgtbq+, immigrants, really any of the minority groups in the united states have always faced some form of oppression. White, land owning, people owning men, created the rules this country is based on, and excluded a lot of other people. Inherently creating a disadvantage to anyone that was not the same as them. Minority groups have been fighting to be considered equal to men for centuries, and at no point in our history has a woman been in charge, creating any semblance of a matriarchy. Patriarchy is a pillar of capitalism, and capitalism is failing and so is the patriarchy. The milestones that feel like entitlements in our world, are becoming harder and harder to achieve for everyone. And it's not because minority groups are taking all the opportunities, it's because late-stage capitalism is destroying them. Corporations and billionaires want people to believe that these milestones and just the ability to afford to live is gone because of these other groups. When really it's because those corporations decided to buy our government, eliminate any social safety net, take huge government subsidies while paying zero taxes, pay their employees no money, and keep all their profits for themselves. Then they turn around and tell the people 'no the reason you're failing, is because these traditionally oppressed groups are taking all the opportunities.' when it's just really not the case, they want us to be mad at each other, instead of being mad at the true villain, so they can keep taking our money and destroying our country while we all yell at each on the internet. Men have just not felt this type of oppression historically, while minority groups have had to live with it since the country began in different forms and levels. People/groups of people that are used to being oppressed have already been living and experiencing what disadvantages in life feel like, and there have been programs in place to try and even the playing field a bit. We can't be mad at each other, that's what they want. If you're angry at your station in life, welcome to the resistance. turn your anger towards the billionaires and corporations that created this mess.