The US election result was for many women confirmation that in so many respects it remains a man's world. As the vanquished Hillary Clinton observed, "we still have not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling". But while men still dominate the corridors of corporate and government power and daily benefit from entrenched biases and norms, being a man doesn't always pay big.
When it comes to the hip pocket, there are some problems that can cost men dearly. To recognise International Men's Day on November 19, we've identified five of the most prevalent issues affecting men's finances.
![Men are less likely to seek treatment for depression, and this can intensify the associated problems.](/web/20161121085758im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/s/6/t/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gss6gn.png/1479465657355.jpg)
Divorce
Divorce has financial impacts on both men and women, splitting household incomes and family assets.
The advantage that women have over men when it comes to divorce is that while both can experience distress over the breakdown of their marriage, women seem better at getting their lives back on track.
Melbourne psychologist Shaun Delaney, author of the study Divorce and the experience of Australian men, says "research has consistently found men … avoid or delay seeking help for physical and mental health problems".
Delaney says "an ideal of masculinity emphasising independence and stoicism" is only part of the explanation for men's reluctance to seek help. "The unique experience and emotional trauma felt by men [after divorce] is often unrecognised and unsupported," he says.
Delaney is critical of "a lack of information about support services, few male-healthcare providers, practitioner disinterest [and] gender-biased diagnosis".
A common issue encountered by Delaney in his interviews with divorced men was a feeling of despair over the loss of financial security and a pessimism about future prospects.
One participant said: "As a man after 28 years of marriage I don't have the financial means or my youth to start again … My future is bleak and I foresee that I will be in the workforce until I die."
Depression
Contrary to the popular misconception, women experience depression at higher rates than men. One in five women in Australia will have depression during their lifetime, compared to one in eight men. However, while women are more likely to experience depression, men are less likely to talk about it or seek help. This increases the risk of their depression going unrecognised and untreated.
While it is possible for someone with untreated depression to hold down a responsible job and build a career, the real risk is that the condition will over time become more pronounced and debilitating to the point where tasks that were previously enjoyable and easily accomplished become mountains to climb.
Stephen Carbone, head of policy and research at mental health advocacy group beyondblue, says despite increasing awareness about depression men very often do not recognise that they have a mental health condition, or if they do are less likely to reach out.
"There is a reluctance to seek help, so they struggle on without help and put themselves more at risk," Carbone says.
The symptoms of depression include persistent flat moods, pessimism, hopelessness about the future, irritability, anger, diminished confidence and lack of motivation.
"All of these conditions affect your day-to-day life including your ability to do your work to the best of your ability," Carbone says.
"It's the nature of mental health conditions that they don't allow you to be at your best, at your full potential."
Beyondblue estimates that one in five employees are likely to be experiencing a mental health condition. It has an initiative called Heads Up which is aimed at fostering mentally healthy workplaces.
Beyondblue also has the Man Therapy site for men who want to know more about depression.
Decline in full-time jobs
While there has been increasing participation of women in the workforce over recent decades, there has also been a steady decline in the proportion of men in full-time work. That trend has been exacerbated by structural changes in the economy that have led to the "casualisation" of the workforce – full-time jobs being replaced by casual and part-time employment.
In September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that full-time employment decreased by 53,000 to 8.1 million and part-time employment increased by 43,200 to 3.8 million. Those disappearing jobs are in industries such as manufacturing, mining and transport – full-time jobs predominantly held by men.
The proportion of men employed in full-time jobs has slipped from 69.9 per cent in 1986 to about 64 per cent today.
And if losing full-time work – with diminished prospects of finding another job – is not bad enough, a US study found that men who are not working full-time are 33 per cent more likely to divorce in the next 12 months than husbands in full-time work. The reason, according to Harvard University sociology professor Alexandra Killewald: "Contemporary husbands face higher risk of divorce when they do not fulfil the stereotypical breadwinner role by being employed full-time."
Gambling
When the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation conducted a comparative study of men and women gamblers in Victoria in 2014, men scooped the pool.
Men have higher participation rates than women in most gambling forms, including informal betting (7.6 per cent v 2 per cent) , gaming machines (31.2 per cent v 27.6 per cent), table games (10.1 per cent v 2.6 per cent), race betting (28.7 per cent v 16.5 per cent) , sports betting (8.9 per cent v 2 per cent) and Lotto (66.2 per cent v 63.9 per cent).
Men also spend more on average in a year on their main gambling activities than women ($2959 v $664).
Compared to women, higher proportions of men were categorised as low-risk gamblers (9.6 per cent v 6.2 per cent), moderate risk gamblers (4 per cent v 2.5 per cent) and problem gamblers (1.3 per cent v 0.6 per cent).
60 and out
The Australian Men's Shed Association (AMSA) runs 978 "sheds" – community-based recreational clubs for mostly retired and unemployed men – for 150,000 men. The average age of the men is 62.
The aim of the sheds is "to improve the health and wellbeing of members and reduce the number of men who are at risk from preventable health issues that may emanate from isolation".
AMSA executive officer David Helmers says the majority of men are from trade and manufacturing backgrounds. Many have been retrenched and no longer in full-time work.
"Many of our members are retired, but others want to work. A lot of the guys worked in manufacturing, they're older employees who haven't got the skill set to get another job, but they're not old enough to access their super, and realistically they haven't got much chance of re-employment," Helmers says, reflecting the men's frustration.
"For some of them it can be very humiliating and demoralising. It's not as if they don't want to work. I've seen guys with a stack of job applications you couldn't jump over."
The activities that occupy the men vary from shed to shed. They might include making furniture for charities, restoring bicycles for local schools, or making a cubby house for Camp Quality to raffle. Men can also learn new skills such as cooking and using a computer.
The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index has identified the three core elements necessary to maintain a positive sense of wellbeing: strong personal relationship/s, financial control and a sense of purpose. Index author Professor Robert Cummins describes this happy trifecta as the "golden triangle of happiness".
"No one element is sufficient in isolation. We all must balance the various disparate elements that make up our everyday lives to enable wellbeing, but those who can positively maintain these three aspects of their lives are well on their way," Cummins says.
- Money published a special edition for International Women's Day on March 8 this year.
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