Unemployment
Being out of work can be devastating for a man. But paid work is not the only type of job men want and need. Consider the fact that divorced men are far more likely than divorced women to commit suicide.
Men through the centuries have worked for their families. Knowing that they are important to their wives and children inspires men to work unselfishly at jobs that can be grueling and harsh. Since the 1960s, however, many men have been laid off, so to speak, from their family roles. What incentive do these men have to go to work every day? Child support enforcement is not incentive enough; in fact there is good evidence that child support enforcement is a disincentive to honest work “on the books.”
With women so prominently in the workforce earning their own money, it is necessary now for men also to be allowed to diversify their productive activities. The Center for Men and Boys in Social Policy will show you how honoring men for their non-economic value can, paradoxically, inspire them to participate more fully and happily in paid employment.
