Democrats Have Been Neglecting Men. The British Labour Party Just Showed Us One Way to Acknowledge Them.

It's worth taking a look at the United Kingdom's new men's health strategy.

Photo by Nathan McDine on Unsplash

As I wrote a few days after the Democrats lost the presidential election, the party has a problem with men.

Progressives, who guide the party’s approach to social and cultural issues, rarely acknowledge the plight of American men — who are living shorter lives than women, face the lion’s share of suicides, murders, and workplace accidents, and whose pain is rarely acknowledged by anyone left-of-center (or right-of-center, for that matter).

And, consequently, men are returning the favor. Most are voting for Republicans instead of the party that treats being a man as nothing more than an unearned privilege.

But across the pond, the Democratic Party’s British cousins have taken a step towards acknowledging the real issues that men face.

Wes Streeting, who serves as the Labour government’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom, unveiled the country’s first-ever men’s health strategy last week.

The government release announcing the strategy is stunning in how forthright it is.

Here’s an excerpt:

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting has announced plans for a men’s health strategy at a Men’s Health Summit held in partnership with Movember, hosted by Arsenal and the Premier League.

The strategy will consider how to prevent and tackle the biggest health problems affecting men of all ages, which could include cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer and testicular cancer, as well as mental health and suicide prevention. It will form a key part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan to fix the NHS.

A call for evidence on the strategy will seek views on what is working and what more needs to be done to close the life expectancy gap between men and women.

Notice that last line: the United Kingdom will now be pursuing a strategy to “close the life expectancy gap between men and women.” Not only are they acknowledging that men have it worse in this area, they are even committing themselves to doing something about it.

At an event at a local football club, Streeting quickly did away with the zero-sum thinking that plagues American progressives.

“Just as we are determined to end the injustices women face in healthcare, we won’t shy away from the need to focus on men’s health too,” he said, acknowledging that addressing men’s issues doesn’t mean ignoring women’s issues.

The press release also lists off a range of areas where men have it worse than women:

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in England; significantly more men die early from cardiovascular disease compared to women. On average, men die nearly 4 years earlier than women and are disproportionally affected by a number of health conditions, including some cancers, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Men tend to seek help for their mental health less than women. They are also more likely to die by suicide, with men accounting for 3 of 4 suicides. There are also significant health inequalities across the country, with those in the most deprived areas in England expected to live almost 10 years less than those in the least deprived.

I don’t want to oversell things. This is the first step in a process: the British government is putting together a strategy to tackle these men’s issues. Time will tell whether they are successful.

But they’re doing more than their American counterparts because they’re willing to at least acknowledge the underlying issues.

As Richard Reeves catalogued back in June, the U.S. government sponsors a range of initiatives and organizations aimed at improving women’s health. He lists them out:

The strong focus on women’s health is result of the work of many people and offices within the corridors of power. There are a number of Federal institutions and initiatives on this front, including:

Office on Women’s Health, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Office of Women's Health, Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)

Office of Women’s Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Office of Women’s Health, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Office for Research on Women’s Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Initiative on Women’s Health Research, The White House

Gender Policy Council, The White House

Regional Women's Health Analysts working in ten regions

Strategic Plan for Research on the Health of Women (NIH)

Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (HRSA)

He notes that “the problem is not the excellent work being done for women’s health; it is the lack of work on men’s health.”

At least a few Democrats get it. There is a bill in the House of Representatives to establish an Office of Men’s Health. Of the 15 sponsors, all are Democrats.

This is an issue where the party can show that it cares and that it’s willing to put real legislative muscle and federal resources behind it. The Republicans have benefitted from the impression that Democrats and their progressive allies are anti-male. Emphasizing men’s health can be one way for the party to help turn the tide in the other direction. Regardless of any political benefit, it’s the right thing to do, and that’s what matters in the end, doesn’t it?