Young men earn less on average than their female counterparts in a striking reversal of the gender pay gap, according to new research warning of a crisis engulfing British males.

The critical milestone was reached in 2022 when, for the first time, gross mean pay for women aged 16-24 in full time work outstripped that of men in the same age group – a wage reversal that has persisted for the past two years.

The ‘Lost Boys’ study conducted by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) paints a grim picture of the plight of Britain’s boys and young men – on virtually every yardstick they are falling further and further behind women.

The report says: “Boys and young men are in crisis. Whilst the last hundred years have been marked by great leaps forward in outcomes and rights for women, in this generation it is boys who are being left behind. And by some margin.

“From the day they start primary school, to the day they leave higher education, the progress of boys lags behind girls.

“The proportion of young men compared to young women failing to move from education into employment or training has been steadily growing for thirty years. Since the pandemic alone, the number of males aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) has increased by a staggering 40 per cent compared to just seven per cent of females.

“For those young men who are in full time work, the much-vaunted gender pay gap has been reversed. Young men are now out-earned by their female peers, including among the university educated.”

The CSJ has tracked this trend since it first emerged. In 2020/21, the average young man earned £24,000 and the average young woman earned £23,000. In 2021/22, the balance swung to the average young woman earning £25,200, over £800 more than the average young man. And in 2022/3, the balance tipped further with the average young man earning £24,300 and the average young women earning £26,500, a difference of almost 10 per cent (9 per cent).

The report highlights the decline of traditionally “male dominated industries such as manufacturing, agriculture and construction” causing a rapid fall in “secure, well-paid and meaningful jobs that used to be available to non-university educated young men”. For example, the number of men in manufacturing jobs has shrunk by over 40 per cent in under 30 years, losing more than 1.3 million male workers since 1997.

The CSJ’s analysis also shows that “at all stages of our education system, boys are behind.” In the ‘school ready’ EYFS framework, sex is almost as influential in educational outcomes as development and deprivation in the early stages of education. And this gender gap persists all the way to higher education.

This comes as new polling, conducted by Whitestone Insight, reflects this worrying trend. By almost three to one (56 per cent to 20 per cent) the public feels that the school system is failing to develop and nurture this generation of boys. This only increases when asking those adults currently at the end of the normal education cycle. 66 per cent of 18-24 men and 64 per cent of 18-24 women believe that the education system is not working properly for boys.

There are also wider concerns about society’s willingness to undermine male self-image and the importance of ‘traditional’ male values. More than four in ten agree that society does not value traditional masculine values, such as courage, resilience and competitiveness. At the same time, half of 18-24 men say that men are too often shown by the media as “a bit pathetic”.

This is despite a deep-seated public belief in the power of male role models, namely a father figure, in improving outcomes for young men. More than half the public (52 per cent) believe that fatherlessness is a serious problem for Britain.

Two thirds of young men aged 18-24 (66 per cent) and half of women of the same age (50 per cent) believe fatherlessness is a leading cause of behavioural problems in children and young adults.

Overall, six in ten (58 per cent) of the public, believe that reducing fatherlessness would help society. This rises to 67 per cent of young men aged 18-24, those most affected by increased family breakdown and absentee fathers.

We have let down a generation of young boys and men. For too long, politicians, policy makers, the media and the arts have turned a blind eye to the needs of boys in the name of ‘equality’.

We are now reaping the whirlwind as we see the devastating impacts of ignoring the challenges facing young men in Britain. Far from creating equality, we have penalised young men for the crime of being male, labelling them as 'toxic' and 'problematic, and failing to provide a positive vision of masculinity.

Things need to change and fast. The Centre for Social Justice has identified a clear problem within our society and we will continue to push for the right response.

We know from our own surveys of teenagers that too many boys are losing hope for the future in their middle teenage years. They struggle to see where a school system set up to support the university route is taking them and far too many are falling by the wayside. The result is a disaster in our classrooms, on our streets and in our prisons.

This is why we have launched the MBacc in Greater Manchester - an equal alternative to the university route. It provides a clear line of sight to real jobs in the GM economy and a pathway towards them from age 14. It’s not a total solution to the growing problem of disillusioned young men, but it does give hope, direction and aspiration to those in danger of being left behind.

Lawrence Dallaglio, former England rugby union captain and founder of Dallaglio Rugby Works, said:

“Something is going wrong in our society when it comes to boys and young men. While we tiptoe around just about every other social group, when we are not taking them for granted we treat them as the lowest of the low. The result is a disaster in our classrooms, prison cells and mortuaries.

“I know this is true from my own work at Dallaglio Rugby Works (DRW), the charity I founded that works with kids excluded from school. 230 children are kicked out of mainstream education every weeks, 75 per cent of which are boys. No boys are born bad they’re just born into chaos. Young boys need positive relationships that build trust – and a constructive way to vent their energy.

“We need to restore the hope that has been lost among boys and young men in Britain today. We have been so careless in our downgrading of the traditional masculine virtues that we are in danger of leaving a whole generation behind.”