Men are just as charitable as women

Ed Spicer attempts to fight back at claims that women are more charitable than men.

Bob Geldof, organised Live8. Bill Gates, worth a few bob. A (male) Make Trade Fair campaiger.

You may have read the news on Generation Why recently, which said that women are more charitable than men. At first I was surprised, but if I had been bluntly honest about it, I would have had to agree, sadly. I've now got the enviable task of arguing that this isn't the case, that men really are the most caring gender, and that ultimately the findings of the survey are false.

Well I had to start somewhere, so with Fairtrade Fortnight everywhere in the papers, I decided to see how many boys in my college were getting involved - whether it be marketing it or helping to organise the events taking place. I couldn't find a single one. Oh dear.

Most guys reading this now will be disgusted with me for not standing up, rubbishing the claims, and then flying the flag of manliness. Most girls reading this will probably be smiling smugly. But, as with all arguments, there is another side.

Fighting back
You don't have to look far to find contrary claims to the Oxfam survey. For starters, take a look at the NVCO (an organisation that conducts research into the charity and voluntary sector) findings. Here you'll note that men actually give more per donor - £46 more per year in fact. A BBC article also points out that men give 2 per cent more to charity as "Payroll Giving", where tax relief is added to the donation.

Men leading the way
Looking away from the stats, men also form the face of a lot of charity work - Live8, spearheaded by Bob Geldof, springs to mind. I would also point to other prominent male figures like Bill Gates, officially the most generous person that has ever lived, with a pledge to give away his massive £28 billion fortune before he dies. So, you see, it's not a completely one-sided argument. Men, I suspect, are just as active on the ground as women in actually implementing vital charity work - and the figures simply don't take these charity workers into account.

We are more subtle
Perhaps men are just the more subtle gender, and consequently won't give as much. But most men still care about poverty, and I'm sure that the will to end poverty is just as strong in men as it is in women.

The figures don't do us justice.
We must also remember that the Oxfam survey isn't conclusive - there is surprisingly little in the way of alternative surveys to back this up. Additionally the survey failed to take into account worldwide gender differences, focusing just on the UK. Ultimately the figures don't do men justice, and in a way show men in a bad light, which simply isn't true.

Many men do valuable charity work and give valuable donations, which I hope will be realised. At any rate, the differences in giving are very small - only 4 per cent more women per month give to charity than men. So, girls, you really can't claim a conclusive victory here - and anyway charity should be about the individual giving, rather than specific groups.