Advocating for Boys - On Boys Podcast

Advocating for boys is one way to help boys and men thrive.

At present, there are no governmental commissions working on behalf of boys and men in the United States. Not at the federal level & not at the state level. Even though boys lag behind girls in academic achievement and boys & men experience suicide, murder, drug & alcohol addiction, homelessness, incarceration, & early death at disproportionately high rates. And even though there are multiple commissions dedicated to addressing & advancing the needs of girls and women.

Blair Daly, founder of the Washington Initiative for Boys & Men (WIBM) is working to change that.

“The male population, I think, can be described as an under-advocated-for population group,” Blair says. “There’s very little organized advocacy.”

That’s why he created WIBM, which combines advocacy journalism and grassroots political action to draw attention to the unique needs of boys and men in Washington state. As a result, Washington state may become the first state in the US to establish a Commission on Boys & Men.

“Without a focus on the male population, we think a lot is being missed,” Blair says. Advocacy is necessary to focus attention on (& find solutions for) issues that disproportionately harm boys & men.