The UN Is All About Equality, Except When It Comes To Men

The UN, the grand institution of peace and equality, has a blind spot when it comes to half the world’s population. And no, it’s not the half that gets 16 dedicated days of recognition, including International Women’s Day, Girl Child Day, and even Rural Women’s Day. Boys and men, it appears, get the short end of the stick, or rather, no stick at all.

So we’ll start with the calendar. The UN proudly champions gender-specific days, with all spotlighting women and girls. That’s fantastic—empowering women is great. I’ve volunteered in areas of the world where girls and women are in dire need of support. But where’s the love for boys and men? 

International Men’s Day, observed globally since 1999 to address issues like male suicide, father’s rights, and boys’ education, gets zero official acknowledgment from the UN, and I believe it’s a missed opportunity. Instead, we get World Toilet Day. Yes, you read that right: November 19th, which happens to be International Men’s Day, is also the UN’s chosen date since 2013 to celebrate... toilets. I’d like to think this wasn’t a deliberate jab, but the irony stings.

Nobody is arguing against improved sanitation which has saved millions of lives. I myself got sick on a volunteer trip to Africa and had to be treated in the U.S. But it feels like a snub. If the UN can find room for World Bee Day, surely they can squeeze in a moment for boys and men. 

International Boy Child Day, May 16th, the equivalent to Girl Child Day, is also not yet recognized by the UN. Reminder: these are children.

But the oversight runs deeper than dismissed calendar entries. For years, the UN has championed gender equality through initiatives like UN Women, a dedicated agency for women’s empowerment. It’s a worthy cause, but where’s the equivalent? Boys and men face unique challenges globally: higher suicide rates, lower life expectancy, homelessness, overdose, educational disparities, child soldiers, war crimes, and workplace deaths that overwhelmingly affect them. Yet, the UN’s focus remains lopsided. There’s no UN Men, no task force for boys’ education, no global campaign addressing male-specific health crises. It’s as if their struggles are invisible, or worse, irrelevant and dismissed.

It’s as if their struggles are invisible, or worse, irrelevant and dismissed.

Again, I've traveled to regions like Africa, Central America, and the Middle East. I’ve volunteered in communities where girls and women (as well as boys and men) face significant challenges. I’ve seen it firsthand.

As the UN continues to discuss critical global issues, gender equality remains a key focus. But the conversation is one-sided, overlooking the serious issues affecting boys and men. The seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in March. Maybe it’s time to have a parallel session on the status of our boys?

These are some of the most pressing issues of our time, and a balanced perspective is needed for meaningful progress.

But dig a little deeper, and the picture gets even more concerning. I spoke with two senior UN officials in New York City, in town for the UN General Assembly in September, who revealed a troubling reality: the UN’s obsession with one-sided gender equality has morphed into systemic discrimination—against men. Within the organization, hiring and promotion decisions right up to the top are increasingly driven by identity rather than merit. If you're a young man today hoping to secure a job in the UN, there's no doubt that it will be difficult.

Gender parity has already been reached and maintained since 2018 (50% women) in senior-level roles, and 60% of field staff are women today.

Yet when there’s a selection process, those hiring must indicate that women have received due consideration and, in the case that a man is preferred, explain why. As a woman myself, I find this infantilizing. It suggests that women need a handicap to compete, undermining the very equality the UN claims to champion.

Ignoring men’s issues while mandating justifications for hiring them isn’t equality. That's bias and sexism dressed up in progressive jargon.

For their 80th anniversary, the UN declared it’s time for change, to listen to other views, and find new solutions. Secretary-General António Guterres wants the UN to review its role with the launch of the UN80 initiative, a system-wide push “to streamline operations, sharpen impact, and reaffirm the UN’s relevance for a rapidly changing world.”

Here’s a great start: acknowledge International Boy Child Day on May 16th. It’s a small gesture that could signal a broader commitment to inclusivity and true gender equality, one that includes men and boys. It’s a simple way to show the boys and men of the world that we care. Then, hopefully, we can also acknowledge International Men’s Day on November 19th following that.

The UN could lead by example, showing the world that equality means lifting everyone up, not pushing one group down to balance the scales.

Create a task force and work with leading experts to address male-specific issues, like mental health and education disparities globally. And, please, stop justifying hiring men as if it’s a crime. The UN could lead by example, showing the world that equality means lifting everyone up, not pushing one group down to balance the scales.

I’m honored that the phrase I coined in 2019, “The Future is Everyone,” has been chosen as the official theme for IMD 2026. This must be the year where we recognize that ‘inclusion’ means everyone, including boys and men. Men and women can work together to bridge the divide and build a more harmonious world where no one is left behind.

I’m thrilled the UN is open to new perspectives on how to better address the issues of our time and create a more harmonious and inclusive world. Those frustrated with the UN’s approach to boys and men aren’t asking for pity; they’re asking for fairness. The UN has the chance to prove it's listening—not just to women, not just to toilets, but to everyone. I hope they take it.

The boys, men, and fathers of this world matter, too.