Half of all men in the UK believe it is more difficult to be male now than in previous generations, a new survey suggests.

The Sky Data poll found that 50% of men believe life is harder for their sex today, while 26% think it is easier, and 24% think it is about the same. More than 70% said they thought men’s issues were given less priority than issues facing women.

The pollsters also asked women for their views on the situation, and found that 39% agreed that men today have a tricker time than their fathers and grandfathers. A total of 57% of female respondents thought men’s issues were given less priority than women’s.

Numerous studies have shown that depression is far more prevalent among men than women, with males in the UK more than three times as likely to take their own lives, according to the Samaritans.

Growing awareness of the problems facing men has seen even some of the unlikeliest supporters celebrating this year’s International Men’s Day, held yesterday.

“If you’d told me I would be doing this a year ago, I would have laughed in your face,” Carys Afoko, founder of feminist group We Level Up, writes in an article for The Guardian.

But “not celebrating men has a lot of negative consequences”, she continues. “It feeds into a culture where some men feel empowered to bully and harass, while others struggle with mental health problems in silence.”

Headlines across the globe have been dominated by stories of men sexually harassing women since the #MeToo hashtag first went viral on social media just over a year ago.

By contrast, International Men’s Day seeks to “to shine a spotlight on men who are making a positive difference”, as well as raising “awareness of issues that men face on a global scale”, reports The Independent.