A large number of men believe it’s harder for them to work compared to 20 years ago, a new Pew Research study found, and experts told Newsweek why that may be.
Roughly 39 percent of men said they are doing worse when it comes to finding a well-paying job now versus two decades ago, compared to just 21 percent of women.
Men also had their qualms about how the male gender was doing at getting leadership positions at work or even obtaining a higher education.
Around 28 percent of men said they were doing worse at getting leadership positions at work, and 27 percent said they were going backward in terms of obtaining a college degree. That was compared to 15 percent of women for each category.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, said many of these perceptions are rooted in reality. While women now earn three out of every five master’s and doctoral degrees, men have largely been falling behind.
And for every 100 Bachelor’s degrees awarded to women, only 72 are awarded to men.
“This education gap has significant social effects,” Thompson told Newsweek. “For example, 40 percent of fathers without a high school diploma live apart from their children, compared to just 7 percent of fathers with college degrees. Interestingly, the earnings trajectory for women without children is similar to that of men.”
The Pew Research survey was based on roughly 6,200 responses from U.S. adults during early September.
In comparison to women’s progress, vast majorities of Americans said women were doing better at gaining leadership positions, getting a well-paying job or getting into college or university.
Still, most Americans, 81 percent, don’t think the gains women have made in society have come at the expense of men, according to Pew Research.
“While it is true women have made substantial gains in both professional and academic achievements over the past few decades, this progress really hasn’t come at the expense of men doing poorly,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
“The reason most men are feeling like they’re falling behind is their incomes, even on the higher end of the spectrum, have failed to keep up with the dramatic increase in the cost of living.”
Beene said that compared to past generations of Americans when the man was either the sole income or was the primary one and their spouse could choose to or to not work, there’s now a significant portion of men who are barely keeping their financial heads above water.
“Yes, there are more women in the workplace than in the past, but they’re not the reason men get that feeling they’re not living up to the standards of prior generations,” Beene said.
HR consultant Bryan Driscoll said men’s perceptions that work has become harder reflects a larger grappling with workplaces that are seeing more inclusivity and accountability.
“Just because something feels tougher, doesn’t mean it objectively is tougher,” Driscoll told Newsweek. “Pay and promotion data consistently show men still dominate leadership roles, particularly in lucrative fields.”
The larger gap between how men and women view the shifts in men in the workforce reveals how historically each gender faced economic obstacles.
“Women, who’ve historically faced great barriers, are less likely to view these shifts as a hardship for men because, for women, this is simply a step toward leveling the playing field, reducing barriers to entry,” Driscoll said.
“When men express frustration, it’s often because they’re seeing changes that challenge old norms which they benefited from. This doesn’t represent an actual decline in opportunities. It just means that being a man alone no longer puts you at the top of the resume pile.”
