From the outside, the men of today should be happy. They have it comparatively easy. They still get paid more for doing the same jobs. They are still 40 per cent more likely than women to be promoted to management roles. At home, men do washing-up and petrol, wine and bins. Women still do everything else.
But below the surface, there is a different story unfolding. Men in the UK are three times more likely to take their own life than women. Men aged 45-49 have the highest rate of suicide, nearly four times that of women the same age. Their reported levels of stress are higher and their levels of happiness are lower. The evidence is clear and ironic: the system set up by men, which doesn't work for women, isn't working for men either. It's making none of us happy.
Man Down will be by turns compassionate and provocative as Matt Rudd digs with humour and honesty into the reasons behind this unhappiness, and what we might be able to do about it. Part memoir, part manifesto, Man Down will be rich in stories from Matt's own life, and from the varied lives of many other men he is interviewing.
