Policy
Policy Update
February 9, 2026
For decades, gender politics in the United States have focused nearly universally on women’s and girls’ issues: gaps in pay, education, employment and leadership, reproductive and other health care and more. In recent months state attention has turned to similar issues facing men and boys. Among the most notable developments are:
Oct. 14, 2025: Virginia legislators announced commitment to passing legislation to create the Virginia Advisory Commission for Men and Boys
Sept., 2025: California Governor Gavin Newsom launched California Men’s Service Challenge
July, 2025: Newsom issues an executive order to support young men and boys, calling out suicide rates
June, 2025: President Donald Trump issued a Presidential Message on National Men’s Health Week
February, 2025: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a directive to expand training and college for men
February, 2025: Maryland governor Wes Moore announced his administration will begin implementing “targeted solutions to uplift our men and boys.”
2024: Utah Governor Spencer Cox created a task force on male wellbeing
Recent Action in Virginia
HB1188 will create the nation's FIRST legislatively bound commission devoted to the wellbeing of boys and men. It establishes the Virginia Boys and Men Advisory Commission as an advisory commission in the legislative branch of state government for the purpose of advising the General Assembly on issues of concern, including education inequity, economic opportunities, disparity in health outcomes, and the impact of social media use, as such issues relate to boys and men in the Commonwealth. The effort was first announced at an October event that attracted attention from national media including a Scott Galloway podcast, ABC News and American Institute for Boys and Men founder Richard Reeves. On February 6 SB447 passed unanimously in the Rules committee.
Contact: Emma Johnson, Virginia Coalition for Boys and Men
Recent Action in Washington State
Washington state's legislation to create a Boys & Men Commission, HB 2401, has cleared two initial hurdles beginning in the House of Representatives. The next step is for the full House to pass the bill by February 17. Those who have testified in support at public hearings have represented organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, rural school districts, construction workers unions, the Washington State Urology Society, the American Institute for Boys and Men, and mental health nonprofits focused on male youth. Watch the sixteen 1-minute testimonies during this public hearing on January 23. To help support this legislative effort, contact Blair Daly at blair@wibm.us or 425-406-0941. He will get back to you promptly with tailored guidance.
Recent Action in Maryland
Prepared by Jon Gilgoff, Co-Chair, University of Maryland Boys' and Men's Health Collaborative
The Maryland legislature is now considering HB0341, which would establish a commission to support the holistic health needs of the state’s boys and men. The commission would serve as a complement to the Maryland Commission for Women, and be a partner to Governor Moore’s initiatives to support boys and men. The advisory commission would operate within the Department of Health and within all its activities to support improved outcomes, consider the state’s population diversity: 1) review relevant data, 2) raise public awareness, 3) support male involvement in health promoting activities, 4) promote gender and culturally responsive healthcare, and 5) work with partners to shape effective programs and policies. To support advocacy, stakeholders can spread the word, encouraging others’ involvement in the legislative process; talk to MD elected officials about the need for this bill and its expected benefits; and track the bill’s progress, with opportunities to submit testimony if the bill transfers from the House to the Senate. If you have questions about this bill or the process to support it, you may contact the bill’s original sponsor, Delegate Wims office, for more information.
Missing in Action: A Review of State, Federal and International Sources of Information on Men's Health
December 2021
There is strong evidence of a paucity of policies, programs and leadership related to young men’s health at the federal and state levels. Hence, little work has been attempted in the area of policy advocacy on behalf of young men’s health. This contrasts with the relative wealth of policies, programs and leadership related to young women’s health, and a strong advocacy network to promote those causes.
There are a variety causes and reasons for this disparity. Chief among them is the fact that after they reach puberty most males become disengaged from the health care system; unlike young females, who transition from pediatricians to gynecologists for their health care, young males are left adrift for health care once they leave pediatric care.
The Partnership for Male Youth (PMY) has documented these disparities in care in its Health Provider Toolkit for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Males and subsequent resources and projects. Much work remains to be done to further identify the unique and unmet health related needs of adolescent and young adult (AYA) males; in the meantime, an advocacy network needs to be built to promote better and new federal and state policies in this realm.
Better and new federal and state policies related to AYA male health cannot be developed and proposed without first understanding the landscape of this issue. PMY has therefore conducted an analysis of state and federal sources of information on men’s health, and contrasted those with public and private sector men’s health policies on the international level. In short, the US falls far behind a number of other countries in terms of men’s health policy development. These international policy prescriptions can serve as models for similar initiatives in the US. The PMY report therefore lays out a number of recommendations for how that can be accomplished.
“Strong advocacy at the ground level is essential to policy change. As important are champions of policy change at the federal and state leadership levels – member of Congress, policymakers within the Administration, program officers for state and federal programs and health care leaders,” said David Bell, MD, MPH PMY Board Chair. “A specific example of potential pressure points for change could be the development of a young men’s health caucus within Congress, composed not just of males but of females who also serve as parents and caregivers to young males. Similarly, an office of young men’s health within the Administration could be an appropriate goal,” he said.
It is PMY’s intention to advocate for the recommendations in the report and it plans to partner with other organizations in an effort to begin building a policy agenda for AYA male health. For more information contact Dennis Barbour, PMY President and CEO, at dbarbour@partnershipformaleyouth.org.