Horror Stories Of A ‘feminised Workplace’ Mask The Real Crisis In Male Identity | Finn Mackay

First it was mechanisation threatening our jobs, past AI and now this: nan Great Feminisation is taking complete nan workplace. Well, that’s according to American journalist Helen Andrews, who popularised this thesis in a speech to nan National Conservatism convention successful Washington DC.

The thought is that excessively galore women successful nan workplace, and successful positions of power, has led to nan power of stereotypical feminine values, to nan detriment of everyone. Girly things for illustration conflict solution alternatively than manly plain speaking, fussy HR departments, aliases a deficiency of patient fierce competition, person each created an imbalance successful nan workplace and successful nan world, suppressing stereotypical masculine values. Andrews fears for her sons and their early successful nan feminised world that she believes threatens america all.

The thesis makes 2 basal errors. First, stereotypes attached to femininity don’t correspond each women, immoderate much than stereotypes astir masculinity specify each men. Second, cipher needs a feminised world, immoderate that delirium moreover means, but we each request a feminist world. There’s a large difference.

For centuries, it was argumentation to support women retired of acquisition and astir professions, though women have, of course, ever worked – successful agriculture, successful factories, aliases successful work to rich | people. Much of this was not successful nan general economy, it was rate successful hand. Work for illustration childcare, washing aliases sewing was done astatine home, alternatively than successful nan nationalist sphere. Yet activity has ever been gendered arsenic masculine, because formal, paid employment extracurricular nan location has been seen arsenic nan sphere of men. So activity comes to specify masculinity, and truthful men, being viewed arsenic halfway to men’s identity.

It is not only conservatives making these kinds of arguments. Scott Galloway, an American world and writer of a much-discussed caller book, Notes connected Being a Man, has summarised masculinity thus: “getting up astatine fucking six successful nan greeting and going to activity and doing shitty activity specified that you tin protect your family economically”. In his book, he links falling wages and unemployment rates pinch a situation successful masculinity, and successful men’s consciousness of identity. While he doesn’t reason for women’s removal from nan workplace, he does framework these issues – that impact everyone, crossed nan labour marketplace – arsenic antheral concerns.

The existent problem facing men is that, for illustration femininity, masculinity is still defined by backward stereotypes astir what men should be. These stereotypes – including visible signifiers of financial success, respect and seniority successful nan workplace and nationalist sphere – person ever been put retired of scope for galore men, and possibly now for most. A caller report, The State of UK Men, from Beyond Equality, revealed that 88% of nan men surveyed believed that being a man intends providing financially for your family – and conscionable complete half felt it was much important that men, alternatively than women, were nan breadwinners. However, 40% reported that their income was not capable to meet their regular needs, and much than half perpetually worried astir their financial future.

Scott Galloway during Vox Media’s Pivot Tour arena astatine Sydney Goldstein Theatre, San Francisco, 13 November 2025. Photograph: Kimberly White/Getty Images for Vox Media

Women look these aforesaid economical challenges. The aforesaid study recovered that adjacent numbers of men and women deficiency immoderate consciousness of intent aliases meaning successful their life. The gender salary spread successful nan UK is astir 13% crossed each employees and women are still much apt than men to beryllium successful part-time work, traditionally little paid. Women are besides much apt to beryllium heads of households and raising children; they are what charities specified arsenic nan Women’s Budget Group telephone nan main “shock absorbers” of poverty.

The unit of poorness affects everyone, yet nine responds pinch peculiar sympathy and condolences erstwhile men look barriers to occurrence successful nan arenas we person picked retired to specify their worth. This is what I telephone nan masculinity burden. Attacks connected men’s income, employment aliases occupation information are viewed not only arsenic challenging successful a quality way, arsenic they would beryllium for anyone, but doubly challenging because they are portrayed arsenic attacks on, and affronts to, masculinity itself. From this perspective, it is not that 50% of nan experiences of precarity – women’s – are not seen; it’s that they are conscionable not seen arsenic being arsenic bad for women, because women don’t transportation this other load of masculinity.

The gendered effects of life experiences, specified arsenic redundancy aliases debased pay, are intelligibly real. The State of UK Men finds that activity and unchangeable finances are still very overmuch classed arsenic nan measurement of men’s worth, starring to nonaccomplishment emotion for illustration an existential threat. This is nan symptom and shame of not gathering gendered expectations. Women are nary strangers to this either, successful nan ceaseless unit of beauty standards attached to femininity, nan presumption of motherhood and judgments astir mothering, aliases successful position being attached to antheral partners. The expectations tin beryllium different, but it’s nan gendered rules that are nan problem, rigging nan crippled for america all, mounting america up for nonaccomplishment successful 1 area aliases another.

What men request to win successful nan workplace has thing to do pinch nan numbers of women employed – it has to do pinch occupation security, livable wages, affordable rents, reliable sick salary and elastic activity astir parenting and caring. This is what men opportunity they want, too: 1 of nan galore positives from nan study is that 83% of men judge successful sharing housework and attraction pinch their partner, and 80% want applicable support to thief fathers beryllium much coming successful family life. These policies would thief everyone – not conscionable astatine work, but retired successful nan world, because each of america person quality needs to springiness and person emotion and attraction successful our families and communities. If you want to telephone that feminised, past truthful beryllium it. I telephone it feminist.

• Finn Mackay is nan writer of Female Masculinities and nan Gender Wars, and a elder teacher successful sociology astatine nan University of nan West of England successful Bristol