Apparently boys lower their sights if they think their work is going to be marked by a woman because they believe their results will be worse.

And the research, published by the Centre for Economic Performance, shows that female teachers, on average, award lower marks to boys than unidentified external examiners.

The research adds weight to the argument that we need more men in schools – but this is NOT the reason why we need more men in schools.

It may – or may not – be true, that boys will get better results when they have more male teachers – but getting more men into schools in order to improve boys’ results is bound to cause resentment and resistance amongst the mainly female teaching profession.

According to the Gender and Education Association, feminist thinkers are critical of strategies to address the ‘problem with boys’ and question the need for more male teachers and for boy-friendly teaching methods. They claim the gender of the teacher has no effect on how well boys achieve in school.

And they may or may not be right. The fact is boys in general do worse in school and they deserve to be the subject of positive action to improve their school results which will have a massive impact on their life chances.

And it really doesn’t matter what that action is – what matters is that schools come clean about the facts, admit they are doing worse for boys than girls, make a commitment to do better and then get measured on their results.

Does this mean that we don’t necessarily need more men in schools? Not at all, but this is a separate issue. We don’t need more men in schools to improve boys’ results (though if it has this positive knock-on effect then brilliant).

The reason we need more men in schools – whether that’s teachers, male support workers, male volunteers or dads and other male family members is much more straightforward.

The public sector is expected under equality legislation to ensure that its workforce reflects the communities it serves. As the community that schools serve is 50% boys, it is a major inequality issue that only 15% of primary school teachers are male

And more broadly boys are growing up in families and communities they are far less likely to grow up around same sex adult role models – which is even more reason for us to take positive action to get more men in schools.

And if boys do better in terms of exam results in the process, then that would be a huge bonus.

The Men’s Network has been offered a rare opportunity to help you double your money thanks to Localgiving.com and The Sussex Community Foundation

What this means is that from Thursday 1^st March every pound you donate online will be doubled – so even if you just give one pound online – they’ll give us TWO POUNDS!

The offer is for a limited time only (last time they ran this scheme the match funding ran out in about a week!)

So this is why we are asking you to get behind this great opportunity and help us in one of three ways:

1. Put a note in your diary or a reminder on your phone to make a donation online on Thursday 1^st March 2012 (or shortly after)

2. Please forward this post to everyone you know who will want to support this

3. Please share a link on social media (facebook, twitter etc) like this: “Double your money with The Men’s Network next week – click now to find out how http://tinyurl.com/7anbbak”

THANKS FOR SUPPORTING THIS GREAT INITIATIVE. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO MAKE AN ONLINE DONATION IS CLICK HERE NOW!

And if you want to commit to giving a little money online on Thursday – and you’d like a reminder – act now and drop us line and we can send you a text or email reminder

Just email office@themensnetwork.org.uk with the words “Double Your Money” in the subject line

AND IF YOU’RE NOT SURE HOW TO GIVE NOW JUST CLICK HERE!

Now a Kenyan men’s lobby group has called for a six-day food boycott to highlight what it says is increasing domestic violence against men says the BBC.

The organisation, Maendeleo Ya Wanaume, wants Kenyan men to stop eating meals cooked at home by wives and partners.

It says men should instead eat together outside the home, and share experiences of emotional and physical abuse.

Kenya’s government does not take domestic violence against men seriously and may be fuelling it, the group says.

Maendeleo Ya Wanaume’s leader Ndiritu Njoka told the BBC’s Network Africa programme that he called for the nationwide boycott to try to stop women beating up or emotionally abusing their husbands and spouses.

Correspondents say most meals in Kenyan homes are cooked by women – and culturally it is important for men to eat at home in order to show their appreciation for women.

Maendeleo Ya Wanaume – which means Development for Men – was set up to try to encourage men to speak out in a society that often ridicules as weak, men who are subjected to domestic violence.

To read the full story visit the BBC website here.

You can visit the Maendeleo Ya Wanaume facebook page here

The campaign group Men Do Complain  will held a vigil on Wednesday the 22nd of February outside the  British Medical Association (BMA) in London. The reason for the vigil was  to highlight the fact that the BMA was discussing ethics, but the non-therapeutic cutting of boy’s genitals was not be on the agenda.

Richard Duncker of Men Do Complain said:

“The vigil went very  well the public really are on our side. Several  circumcised men approached us and quite openly said that they were glad someone was taking a stand.

“A lot of doctors on their way into the meeting made us feel very welcome.  A peadiatric surgeon made it clear he was angry with his colleagues for continuing to circumcise children who have no need of such treatment and cannot give informed consent.

To read more about the vigil visit the Men Do Complain website

For more on the subject click on the links below to read posts on the following topics:

• Is it time to stop male genital mutilation?
• Is male circumcision legal?
• How to grow back a foreskin

Official government estimates state that at most 11% of male victims report their crimes. With new Met Police figures showing that in 2009/10 a total of 945 sexual assaults against men were reported, the true figure is closer to 10,000 in the capital alone.

The campaign, featuring a rugby ball pierced by a nail and the message “Real Men Get Raped and Talking About It Takes Real Strength”, will be featured on 140 escalator panels in central London Tube stations from February 20th during the Six Nations rugby tournament. The adverts will also feature on two 48 Sheet billboards at Clapham Junction train station and on big screens at Waterloo stations on 25th February and 17th March, when England are playing at home in the tournament.

Michael May of Survivors UK said: “We’ve chosen to use an alpha male sport in our advertising to challenge assumptions about the type of men who get raped. It’s just as likely to be a rugby player as a librarian, a suited city banker as a hooded gang member. And we hope that by challenging our innate assumptions about the identity of male victims, we can make it even fractionally easier for a male rape victim to ask for help.”

Professor Kim Etherington, University of Bristol and Fellow of BACP said: “Males are taught from a very early age that they should be ‘strong’ and ‘in-charge’. To be successfully masculine is to be sexually potent, competitive with other males in sexual matters, and dominant with sexual interactions. Being raped challenges and negates all these pre-conceptions.”

Baroness Stern’s 2011 rape report acknowledged that the vast majority of male victims of sexual violence do not report their crimes because of the common view that men “should be able to fight off an attacker”. The review recognised that men do not come forward for fear of being ridiculed or not believed, fear they may be seen as gay. And centrally they do not want to be regarded as less of a man. Hence a campaign that strives to demystify what it takes to be a man.

For more information about SurvivorsUK visit www.survivorsuk.org

We’ve got a bumper crop of interesting news items for people committed to improving services for men and boys in the UK in areas like fatherhood, men’s health issues, men’s safety and men’s personal development this month.

We hope you all find something of interest to click on in this newsletter and as always if you have any news and success stories and upcoming events you want to share with us, do please let us know. We love hearing from inspiring people like you who are working in the UK’s men and boys sector and it’s been really great to speak with so many of you in the past month.

Thank you all for the difference you are making in the world, we hope you enjoy the news:

DADS’ SURVEY

There’s still a chance for dads-to-be and dads with kids under five to win £100 by taking part in a 10 minute online survey to help the NHS improve the information it provides to dads. If you are a dad, if you work with dads or if you know some dads who’d love to take part please CLICK HERE NOW and forward this link to dads you know or do the survey today……….

MALE VICTIMS

There’s been lots happening in the world of male victims with several established men’s charities missing out on a £250,000 Home Office’s fund. If you know of any projects that have been awarded funding from the Home Office’s male victims fund, do please let us know.

A big well done to Esteem in Cornwall who have won more than £250,000 from the Big Lottery to help male victims of domestic violence  - click here for the story. Esteem will be represented at this week’s National Conference on male victims of domestic abuse hosted by The ManKind Initiative – click here for details.

Finally, congratulations to Survivors Manchester who marked three years helping male victims of rape and sexual abuse this month – click here for details.

HOME OFFICE COMMITS TO TACKLE MEN’S INEQUALITY 

The Coalition Government has outlined its commitment to tackle the inequalities men experience following a campaign led by The Men’s Network. Nearly 100 individuals and organisations working with men and boys backed a joint letter to parliament on International Men’s Day 2011. To read the Home Office’s response click here now. To find out the Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone failed to respond to the letter click here.

CONFERENCE FOR MEN AND BOYS

The date for this year’s Second National Conference for Men and Boys will be Friday 2^nd November. Please make a note in your diary an do get in touch if you want to be involved or have feedback on how we can improve last year’s successful event – click here now.

HAS THE WORLD GONE DAD?

We’ve heard of several new dads’ groups setting up in 2012 so we’ve put together a great list of some of our favourite UK dad projects. CLICK HERE NOW to read the list and if you know of a project you think we should add, please drop us a line and let us know.

WORKING WITH MEN OVER 50

There’s a great new project for men over 50 offering events, listings and a range of resources for men in their 50s, 60s and beyond. It’s called Men Beyond 50 project, which is It is being set up by Alan Heeks, who has been leading men’s groups since 1997 and Max Mackay-James, a retired GP with a special interest in older men’s health issues. Click here now to read more

SEXISM AGAINST MEN

Have you heard the one about the student who is taking the LSE to court for sexosm against men in its gender studies department? If you haven’t heard about Tom Martin’s Sexism Busters campaign yet then why not click here and find out more

EUROPEAN GENDER CONFERENCE

Nick Duffel at the UK’s Centre for Gender Psychology is hosting an International Symposium for Men near Frankfurt in Germany. Called “Men and the Future: Sex, Authenticity And Power. Click here now if you want to read more.

SUPPORT MEN WITH EATING DISORDERS

Our friends at Men Get Eating Disorders Too has launched an online petition that aims to address inequalities around service provision and in particular the barriers men face getting help. Click here to read more

ARE JOB CUTS HITTING MEN OR WOMEN?

Women’s job losses were in the media last week with headlines claiming the women are bearing the brunt of public sector cuts. However, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has said these stories are misleading and that in fact there are now more women in work and less men in work. Click here to read the full story

MEN’S GROUPS  

We’re looking at putting together an online list of all men’s groups operating in the UK so if you know of any, please let us know. It the meantime to read about two examples of groups run by Kenny D’Cruz and Nick Clements click here now

HIGHLIGHTING MEN’S HEALTH

A quick reminder that Men’s Health Week is coming in June – click here to find out how you can get involved. Improving Men and Boys’ Health is also the theme of International Men’s Day in November 2012 and we’d like you all to consider getting involved with the day this year – click here to find out more.

WORKING WITH NEW DADS – EXPERTS NEEDED

Are you an expert at preparing dads for birth and their transition into parenthood? The organizers of a one day conference for midwifery and allied services would like to hear from speakers who are experts in this field. If this is you click now for more info.

THE MEN’S NETWOR AT TEDx

The work of The Men’s Network is to be featured in a day of inspiring talks at The London School of Economic (LSE) to promote the development of tomorrow’s thinkers and leaders. The aim of the TEDx (LSE) event is to support a generation of innovation, critical thinking and leadership in order to promote meaningful change in this world. To read more about this now click here

That’s all the news we have this month, as always we’ve put you on this list because we think you share our commitment to improve the lives of men and boys in the UK. If you don’t want to stay in touch with us and keep receiving information like this in future then please just let us know.

The organizers of a one day conference for midwifery and allied services would like to hear from speakers who are experts in this field.

Interested presenters from Midwifery, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Consumer Organisations and the National Health Service are invited to submit abstracts on the following aspects of education in preparation for birth and parenthood.

Group 1: Innovations in antenatal education that promote normality

Group 2: Parenting education initiatives to support vulnerable women and families

Group 3: Innovations to improve engagement in antenatal education

Group 4: Preparing fathers for birth and the transition to parenthood

To submit your paper, please follow the instructions on the conference website: www.worcester.ac.uk/midwiferyconference and e-mail the completed documentation to j.fleet@worc.ac.uk by 4pm on 2 April 2012.

The conference is called Education for birth and parenthood: Innovations in Practice 11 July 2012

Newspapers from left to right informed us this week that twice as many women as men are losing their jobs with 32,000 women becoming unemployed between October and December 2011,  compared with 16,000 men.

The news of “women bearing the brunt of job losses” was reported by The Daily Mail, The BBC, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent to name but a few.

This interpretation of what’s happening in the job market ignore the fact  - reported here – that between 2010 and 2011 the number of women in work actually rose by 32,000 while the number of men in work fell by 86,000.

And yet despite the hard facts that there are more women in work, Labour’s Yvette Cooper stated this week that “more women are being forced out of work”.

And despite the fact that there were 50,000 more jobs created for women in the final quarter of 2011, Anna Bird, the acting chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said that the “cuts are threatening women’s equality as jobs dry up”.

Adding some factual balance to the debate, Dr John Phillott, Chief Economic Adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) stated:

“Reports in much of today’s media that women are at present faring less well than men in the labour market, primarily because of the disproportionate impact of public sector job cuts, are misleading.

“It is evident that conditions in the UK labour market are at present tough for both women and men, and there is a clear and severe overall shortage of jobs that needs to be filled.

“However, it is misleading to say that women are being hit harder than men.

“But the current popular narrative suggesting that female employment is already falling and unemployment rising relative to that of men because of the impact of fiscal austerity is not supported by available data.”

For a fuller analysis of the current job market see: the CIPD website.

Called “Men and the Future: Sex, Authenticity And Power” the organizers say this is a unique invitation to men to come together and “find new interior directions for a sustainable future”.

The event includes talks, workshops, a World Café, fire-rituals and games to inspire and challenge participants and runs from 31 May 2012 finishes lunch-time 3 June, near Frankfurt, Germany.

The event is a joint venture between The Centre for Genderpsychology (GB) and L’hom – für Männer, (CH). For more details see: www.genderpsychology.com

You may well be aware that eating disorders are typically perceived to be illnesses that are suffered by only women and girls. In reality, eating disorders are conditions that are indiscriminate and can affect anyone of either gender.

For Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2012 MGEDT wants to further increase awareness of eating disorders in men and challenge the stereotypical assumptions often made.

One quick and easy way you can do this is to sign an online petition that aims to address inequalities around service provision, in-particular the barriers men face getting help from the point of access and in treatment services.

MGEDT hopes that the petition will spark a debate and initiate key changes in services so that men’s specific needs are recognised and met.

Please sign and share this link: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/26689

For more information about MGEDT and eating disorders in men visit www.mengetedstoo.co.uk

You an also ‘like’ their campagn on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Men-Get-Eating-Disorders-Too/93995340689

And follow them on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MGEDT (@MGEDT)