A new report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has found that people who go through the process of finishing their education, getting a job and getting married are more than twice as likely to be “living comfortably” or “doing alright”, compared to those who don’t.
In a poll of 2,100 adults in Britain, 69 per cent of those who followed the so-called “Success Sequence” reported financial security, compared to 28 per cent of those who went a different path.
Among men aged 25-34, the difference is even greater, with 86 per cent of those who got an education, a job and married being financially stable, compared to 33 per cent of those who didn’t follow the sequence.
Of the 25 to 34 year olds who did not complete any part of the sequence at all, a third said their household income was below £21,000.
The report also looked at data which showed that 87 per cent of people aged 28-34 who had completed the sequence were in the middle or top third of the household income distribution.
Having shown the importance of finishing one’s education, getting a job and getting married, the CSJ raised concerns that an increasing number of young men are defined as “NEETs” (Not in Education, Employment or Training).
Furthermore, marriage is also on the decline among young people, with one stat suggesting that retired men are more likely to get married than men in their 20s.
Commenting on the report, Labour MP Al Carns said, “Boys need guidance. Not vague sympathy or slogans, as politics and society are often quick to give. Not a list of everything they are doing wrong. Guidance.
“I admire the simplicity of approaches like the ‘Success Sequence’, and the genuine attempt to offer boys something that we can all get behind. That should not be controversial. If we want better men, we must help boys become them.”
Luke Taylor, senior researcher at the CSJ, said that too much of the debate around the role of boys "continues to focus on the problems".
"Phrases like ‘toxic masculinity’ and the ‘manosphere’ dominate public discourse, but we still fail to recognise the unique contributions and positive attributes of young men," he said.
“At best, this leads us to misunderstand them. At worst, it leads us to demonising them. It creates a script for young men that is a series of ‘do nots’ rather than a positive and ambitious vision for what being a man can be.
"Boys need fewer lectures about restrictive behaviour and negative masculinity, and more guidance about what a good and stable life could look like.”
