In Massachusetts and beyond, men across all racial and ethnic groups have been falling behind women in several key areas. Some of this gap reflects real and important gains by women, driven in part by decades of feminist organizing and policy changes like Title IX. But part of the story is also about men not keeping up with their own past performance and even falling behind in some areas. Men are attending and completing college at lower rates than they once did. Such trends point to deeper challenges that affect men in absolute terms, not just relative to women. 

Black men face many of the same challenges as other men. And they are compounded by longstanding systemic racism and prejudice that continue to limit access to education, employment, and opportunity. Looking at educational attainment over time, Black men have made strides, with the share of Black men across the U.S. completing bachelor’s degrees increasing by 10 percentage points between 2000 and 2023. But despite these gains, their graduation rates still trail both males of other races and Black women. The consequences of these educational gaps can be far-reaching, translating into limited career opportunities, suppressed earnings potential, and workforce inequities. And even with a college degree, Black men are more likely to face unemployment and earn less than their peers with similar credentials. 

This brief takes a closer look at educational pathways and workforce outcomes for Black men, building on the recent report Boston Indicators produced with the American Institute for Boys and Men, Boys & Men in Greater Boston: Challenges in Education, Employment and Health. 

As Boys & Men in Greater Boston demonstrated, in 4th grade, boys in Massachusetts tend to trail girls in reading but slightly outperform them in math. But by the 8th grade, boys fall behind girls in both subjects. This pattern holds true for Black boys, who also have lower early literacy and math proficiency rates compared to boys of other races. These academic gaps persist through high school, where males and Black students graduate at slightly below the overall rate. 

After high school is where trends among Black men diverge notably from trends among other men. At the national level, Black men enroll in college at lower rates than Black women and their White and Asian male counterparts. There’s also a difference in the types of postsecondary institutions they attend. Nationally, Black men enroll in public four-year universities at slightly lower rates than other men but attend for-profit four-year colleges at much higher rates—these often charge high tuition, deliver limited economic value, and leave students with higher levels of debt. Black men are also more likely to pursue two-year programs, which can provide valuable skills and credentials for the workforce but often lead to earnings that don’t reflect the time and effort students invest.

When it comes to completing college, men tend to graduate at lower rates than women, but the gap is particularly stark among young Black men. In Greater Boston, only one in three Black men under age 34 holds a bachelor’s degree, compared to 54 percent of young Black women in their age cohort, a gap of 20 percentage points.

The disparities are even greater when comparing Black men age 25 to 34 to men of other races in the same age group, with college attainment rates trailing Asian men by 53 percentage points and White men by 36 points. And the gap between Black men and men of other races has grown over time, increasing from 4 percentage points in the early 1990s to 22 points by 2024. And once Black men enter the workforce, gaps widen further.

Employment has declined in general for men without a college degree, reflecting shifts in family dynamics and the economy. Manufacturing jobs, once common for men in Massachusetts, have sharply declined, while HEAL fields (Health, Education, Administration, Literacy) have grown. Men overall remain underrepresented in these traditionally woman-dominated sectors, for example making up just 24 percent of the healthcare workforce despite 22 percent sector growth since 2011.

Among Black men in Greater Boston, the highest concentrations of jobs are held in transportation, sales, and management—fields that often require less formal education and offer lower wages and less stability. They also may not provide pathways to higher-paying, growth-oriented careers. Smaller, but not insignificant shares of Black men are represented in fields like business, finance, education, and computer science, where wages and advancement opportunities are stronger and more closely tied to higher levels of educational attainment.

When we look at levels of employment, regardless of race or gender, people without a bachelor’s degree are employed at lower rates than those with one. However, as discussed in the Boys and Men in Greater Boston report, employment trends over the past two decades have consistently improved for women while declining for men, especially those without a college degree. These trends have been even tougher for Black men without a bachelor’s, with prime-age employment falling by 9 percentage points between 2004 to 2014, and just now climbing back to 2004 levels.

Even with a bachelor’s degree, Black men face significant employment disadvantages. In 2024, prime-age employment rates were lowest among Black women without a degree. But Black women who earned a degree were employed at a rate 11 percentage points higher—nearly matching the 12-point bump associated with a degree for men overall. Employment for Black men with a degree, however, was just 8 percentage points higher, underscoring the limited employment gains higher education yields for Black men.

Not only does a bachelor’s degree not guarantee high employment rates for Black men, it does far less to boost earnings for Black men than for other men. Black men with a college degree who work full time can expect to earn a weekly median wage that’s only $293 more than Black men without one, while a college degree boosts weekly earnings by $1,404 and $962 for AAPI and White men, respectively.

Regardless of education level, Black men in Massachusetts earn significantly less than other men. Nearly half of Black men working full time earn less than $50,000 annually, compared to just 30 percent of all men. At the other end of the distribution, 24 percent of men overall earn more than $125,000, while only 9 percent of Black men reach that threshold, and just 15 percent earn over $100,000. Black men are disproportionately represented at the lower end of the income distribution, even in a state known for its high wages.

Overall, the data paint a troubling picture: Boys and men across Greater Boston face persistent and interconnected challenges in education and the workforce. These struggles affect young men of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, pointing to a broader set of gender-specific challenges related to a changing economy and rigid gender norms that may discourage men from entering certain growth fields. For Black boys and men, however, these difficulties are compounded by the longstanding effects of systemic racism and prejudice. Educational gaps that begin in early childhood often widen over time, leading to limited workforce opportunities and lower earnings, even for those who complete college.

Addressing these inequities will require a comprehensive approach, including pinpointing the obstacles, rethinking how we support boys and young men in schools, expanding programs like My Brother’s Keeper and Boston’s Office of Black Male Advancement, and investing in new efforts to promote career mobility. These are just a few examples—far more work is needed across multiple domains to confront the full scope of disparities. By confronting these disparities directly, we can create a future in which Black boys and men have a fair chance to succeed, benefiting families, communities, and the entire region.