Do we need an International Men’s Day?

  • World

November 19 marks International Men’s Day but do they even want one?

Well, it seems that some men demand it in retaliation to the female equivalent.

The chart below shows there is a spike in people searching for it on March 8 when International Women’s Day is celebrated.

Note there is far less interest on November 19, the day it actually falls on.

And when it does comes around, the knives are sharpened on social media with comments like: “Isn’t everyday International Men’s Day?”

It’s a fair point.

Women face far more obstacles than men such as the gender pay gap, childcare and harassment - to name just a few - but should that stop us from recognising issues like suicide and homelessness which disproportionately impact men?

Charities say campaigns like International Men’s Day work – it leads to more men reaching out and it is changing conversations at work and at home.

And if that’s all because of one day out of 365, then maybe it does deserve support.