Boys and Men's policy nationwide
Lots of talk, little action. Can VA be a leader?
This post will be updated regularly with news about U.S. policy and government efforts to address boys’ and men’s issues. Please share any local, state and federal efforts in your community!
State efforts to serve boys and men
Oct. 14, 2025, Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, Del. Josh Thomas, Democrat Party Chair Lamont Bagby and other legislators announced commitment to passing legislation to create the Virginia Advisory Commission for Men and Boys
Sept., 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom launched California Men’s Service Challenge
July, 2025 Newsom issues an executive order to support young men and boys, calling out suicide rates
June, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a Presidential Message on National Men’s Health Week
February, 2025 Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a directive to expand training and college for men
February, 2025 Maryland governor Wes Moore announced his administration will begin implementing “targeted solutions to uplift our men and boys.”
2024 Utah Governor Spencer Cox created a task force on male wellbeing
For decades, gender politics in the United States have focused nearly universally on women’s and girls’ issues: gaps in pay, education, employment and leadership, reproductive and other health care and more. We still have some work to do here.
Finally there is a growing recognition of the many ways that boys and men are at a disadvantage. This movement is only just starting. The breakthrough voice has been Richard Reeves, a Brookings Institute scholar whose bestseller Of Boys and Men got the attention of the masses, President Barack Obama and eventually Melinda Gates who granted Reeve’s American Institute for Boys and Men $20 million — a landmark gift that shifted gender inequality conversations into the future.
While men’s issues have typically been the mainstay of political conservatives, that is now far from the case. Increasingly politicians on all points of the political spectrum are addressing the masculinity crisis.
This is a great step forward. Considering the fact that very little has been done up to now! Bravo to the folks who worked hard to make these changes happen. I'm surprised that Governor Newsom and Hochul are doing anything. I guess the Democrats are trying to get the male voting block back. We can only make true progress when the civil rights laws and Title IX are changed and DEI programs are eliminated.