Often when we think of gender equality movements and programs, we have images of smart, strong women leading the cause. While women play a primary and critical role in the movement, there is an emerging realization that male allies have the capacity to play a key role as well.
In September 2014, UN Women launched their HeforShe campaign, which focuses on engaging men and boys as agents of change for the achievement of gender equality and women’s rights. The movement’s lofty goal is to achieve gender equality by 2030. To date, HeforShe has more than 960,00 men and 176,000 women committed to its cause, and has spurred more 1.3 billion conversations.
In addition to campaigns like HeforShe, there are also organizations working on research and programming to help effectively integrate men into gender equity and justice programs around the world. One of these organizations, Promundo, issued a report in March of this year titled “Reframing Men and Boys in Policy for Gender Equality.” The report outlines the reasons for including men and boys in gender equality programming, including: addressing unequal gender relations that need to be understood while working toward gender equality; engaging men and boys can enable positive outcomes for women and girls; and recognizing that patriarchy has negative effects for men and boys, and for societies at large.
Along with the reasons to engage men and boys in gender equality programming, there are also innovative approaches and ideas that organizations around the world are piloting. Trevor Davies, the director of the Africa Fatherhood Initiative in Johannesburg, South Africa says that focusing on fatherhood is a sensible approach to gender equality programming because it is a key area of masculinity for men and has an intergenerational reach. Daniel Molina, the regional gender equality and masculinities program coordinator for Plan International in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, says the idea of reaching boys through their hobbies (sports, music, and the arts) is critical in gender equality-focused programming. To see more ideas from practitioners on how to engage men and boys in gender equality movements, click here.
Women and girls face many barriers that men and boys do not. However, without the support of male allies, the already up-hill battle for gender equality becomes that much harder.