SCHRÖDINGER’S FEMINIST Perhaps the greatest credibility challenge facing contemporary feminism is remarkably simple: Does it believe in equality even when equality benefits men? “Schrödinger’s Feminist” describes the perceived contradiction. Women are strong, independent and fully autonomous, but sometimes simultaneously portrayed as uniquely vulnerable and requiring special protection... Equality when women are disadvantaged. Asymmetry when women are advantaged. Female success is celebrated as individual achievement; male success is attributed to structural privilege. Female disadvantage demands systemic reform; male disadvantage is reframed as something that men must fix themselves. Women entering traditionally male professions is progress; but men disappearing from teaching and other caring professions attracts little concern. Girls being slightly behind in maths is a national problem; but boys massively falling behind in literacy is mere background noise. Violence against women rightly demands compassion and action; but male victims are shown no humanity. Many people are asking whether feminism is now about genuine equality or female supremacy. This is the challenge of deeply ingrained hypocrisy that contemporary feminism must confront. Feminism is diverse, and some feminists sincerely believe in universal equality. But a movement cannot credibly claim equality as its governing principle while applying that principle selectively. The real test of equality is whether you defend it when it helps the other sex. If feminism wants to ever regain credibility, the path is straightforward: one standard for women and men. Equal dignity. Equal agency. Equal accountability. Equal compassion. Equal opportunity. No moving goalposts. No convenient exceptions. No gaslighting or propaganda of men and boys. Because if the principle changes according to which sex benefits, then people will increasingly flock away from identifying as feminist. #SchrodingersFeminist #Equality #GenderEquality #Fairness #MenAndBoys #WomenAndMen #Accountability

Twenty-five Care Packages. One Purpose: helping Australia’s boys and young men to flourish through education... Over recent weeks, I’ve assembled and sent 25 substantial care packages around Australia. From Perth to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, and to Members and Senators of the Australian Parliament in Canberra. Each is labelled: “Care package for our precious boys, their schooling, and the education of young men.” The packages contain eleven books and four major reports, bringing together more than 25 years of research, policy, parliamentary inquiry, practical experience and thinking about boys and education. They are accompanied by my Proposed Recommendations for the House of Representatives Inquiry into the Factors Driving Educational Attainment. Among the proposals are: • A national initiative to lift the literacy of boys and young men, recognising that reading, writing, comprehension and expression are foundational to almost everything that follows. • Earlier identification and intervention when children begin falling behind. • Better recognition of boys experiencing multiple and intersecting disadvantages, so that those students who are most in need don’t disappear between policy categories. • A national strategy to recruit and retain more male teachers and educators, alongside greater involvement by fathers, mentors and positive male role models. • More physical activity, movement, recess and sport throughout the school years. • Genuine parity of esteem between university and vocational, technical, trade and apprenticeship pathways. • Better measurement of what actually works, and scaling successful approaches. • An enduring national body to represent boys and men, including the capacity to examine boys’ educational outcomes across government. Importantly, this isn't boys versus girls. Supporting boys who are struggling doesn't diminish our commitment to girls. Every child deserves the opportunity to flourish. For those interested in reading further, the packages contain: - Boys, A Rescue Plan by Sean Kullman & Michael Gurian - Boys Adrift (September 2026 edition) by Leonard Sax - The Boy Crisis by Warren Farrell & John Gray - Yes He Can! by Mike Bell - Building Schools for Boys by Phil Cummins & David Atkinson - Boys’ Education and the Gender Attainment Gap by UK's All Party Parliamentary Group on Issues Affecting Men and Boys - Boys: Getting it Right from the Australian House of Representatives in October 2002 - Boy Troubles by Jennifer Buckingham - Lost Boys: State of the Nation by the Centre for Social Justice - The War Against Boys by Christina Hoff Sommers - Boys & Girls Learn Differently! by Michael Gurian - Oh Boy! by Michael Nagel - He’ll Be OK by Celia Lashlie - Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves - Some Things About Boys by Maggie Dent The recipients span parliamentarians, government policymakers, education leaders, and some of Australia’s leading education journalists. This morning I was at Parliament House in Canberra for the third time this fortnight, and I saw the care package in two offices. My hope is simple: that these care packages encourage decision-makers to look carefully at the evidence, listen to boys and young men, learn from schools and programs that are succeeding, and approach the challenge with both high expectations and genuine compassion... Our boys are precious. When they struggle, we should notice. When something works, we should learn from it. And when boys flourish (educationally, socially and personally) families, communities and Australia as a whole benefit. #BoysEducation #Education #BoysAndMen #Literacy #Teachers #MaleTeachers #VocationalEducation #Apprenticeships #AustralianEducation #EducationalAttainment @DavidMaywald Chair of the International Council for Men and Boys (ICMB) @menandboysnet