Men read less than women

Men read significantly less than women, according to multiple reports, with this disengagement from reading being a notable trend. While discussions about declining reading habits often focus on young people, men as a group also show a marked decline in reading practices.

Reading performance gap

Studies highlight that boys perform weaker in reading compared to girls, as noted in a report by the Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research published in October 2025, and this trend is confirmed by the recently published PISA survey, which shows that 15-year-old boys have lower reading comprehension levels than their female counterparts across 38 OECD countries.

French survey reveals trends

The 2026 survey by the National Book Center (CNL) in France reveals a decline in reading habits among young people aged 7 to 19, with boys affected more than girls. This trend continues into adulthood, as shown by the CNL 2025 survey on people aged 15 and over, where men are less likely to define themselves as reading a lot, read at least one genre of book frequently, read every day, or report reading more books compared to women.

Long-term decline in male readers

This gender gap in reading has been identified since at least the Cultural Practices of the French survey in 1988. Between 1988 and 2018, the share of readers among men decreased by 27% (71% in 1988 versus 52% in 2018), and the share of intensive readers (20 books or more per year) decreased by 50%. For women, the decreases were -8% and -21%, respectively. CNL data show that this gap has persisted or even increased between 2018 and 2025.

Gender roles and reading

Sociologists Gérard Mauger and Claude F. Poliak suggest that gender socialization may lead women to build themselves through reading, as they are more often assigned to the "human world" compared to men, who are more often assigned to the "world of material things." This division is reflected in professional roles, with more women in care professions and more men in production professions.

Reading and social conditioning

This structuring of the world influences reading habits, according to the sociologists. Women, more socially conditioned to care for others, may acquire skills and experiences in managing human relationships early on, which novels help to develop. Novels are read significantly more by women from adolescence, with 55% of 7-19-year-olds reading them compared to 39% of boys. This may contribute to an interest in reading, as it relates to their daily experiences.

Reading and social change

The feminization of reading can also be seen as a product of the claim for a renewed social order. Women have driven the emergence of the second modernity, transitioning from a society of abstract individuals to one of concrete and autonomous individuals. This is evident in areas like meal preparation, where personal bonds are formed, and in feminist waves that have expressed aspirations for autonomy and self-definition.

Educational influence

Girls have systematically achieved better results than boys in reading since 1965, likely influenced by the women in their environment, particularly their mothers, who play a more important role in education and the transmission of reading than fathers. Reading supports this emancipation movement, allowing women to create and maintain their own world, including an imaginary escape from ordinary life.

Gendered academic choices

For men, reading seems less necessary to deal with the situations they face in the professional context. Student orientation reveals a gendered division of investment, with more boys choosing Mathematics and Physics-Chemistry as specializations, and less emphasis on reading. Masculine identity, as defined in a patriarchal society, gives little place to the relational dimension of existence and self-reflection, which is more emphasized in reading.

Professionals and reading promotion

Sociologist Sylvie Octobre notes that women are largely overrepresented among personnel responsible for book mediation, such as primary school teachers, French teachers, library teachers, and librarians. This may reinforce the idea among boys that reading is more related to femininity than masculinity.

Reading and empathy

Reading allows access to different points of view, increasing empathy and the capacity for understanding human relationships. It provides a time for reflection and is inseparable from self-reflection, which can be conducive to communication. Men's reading is a collective challenge because it allows the building of a "Republic of Readers" that is attentive to others, sensitive to verified information, and able to forge a common narrative.