Men As Agents of Change for Gender equality
Relevance: Sociology: Patriarchy and sexual division of labour; Social Change in Modern Society:Agents of social change; Gender equality; Women Empowerment & G.S paper I: Society and social issues: Women empowerment & gender equality
Introduction
Over the past decade the important role that men and boys can play in empowering women and achieving gender equality in the home, the community, and the workplace has become increasingly recognized.
Achieving gender equality is acknowledged as a societal responsibility that concerns and should fully engage men as well as women and requires partnerships between women and men.
A growing body of research related to men and gender equality has emerged. Academic journals have been established, research conferences have been held, and there is a rapidly growing international literature on the topic of men, masculinities and gender equality.
Initial efforts to understand the role of men and boys and to increase their involvement in promotion of gender equality focused largely on men as perpetrators of discrimination and subordination of women.
Advocacy and programmes emphasized the need for men to change their attitudes and behaviours to order to improve the situation of women. In the areas of violence against women, sexual exploitation in armed conflict and trafficking men the focus was on the criminal activity of men and their prosecution and punishment.
Over recent years, particularly as more men have come out actively in support of gender equality and against male violence against women, there has been increased attention to the positive role of men as partners and allies in building a more gender responsive and just society.
Male researchers have also called for a focus on the well-being of men and boys as a legitimate concern of gender equality work. Men’s active support: Men’s active support for gender equality has taken a variety of forms, including advocacy, alliances and campaigns, and educational programmes for young men.
Men’s advocacy and action on male violence against women have included networks of men who challenge existing stereotypes and men’s roles in sexual relationships. Projects and programmes related to working with men and boys, for example on reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, violence against women and men’s roles as fathers, have been implemented by institutions ranging from Governments and large international organizations to small community-based groups.
Aware and committed men take leadership roles in increasing understanding of the gains of gender equality for themselves as individuals and as a group, as well as the benefits for society as a whole.
This requires identifying the constraints men face under the current “gender order” – i.e. the way relations between women and men are structured in different societies – and the current definitions of masculinity in different contexts.
Many efforts focus on men who are already committed to gender equality and can offer positive role models to other men and boys, while others give attention to young men who are less firmly entrenched in their attitudes and behaviour.
Men as agents of change in the workplace:
Securing work and earning an income is considered essential in most societies for acquiring the status of male adulthood and social recognition, and is a prerequisite for establishing a family.
Changes in the gender division of labour, as well as increasing unemployment, may pose challenges for men in terms of their masculine identity. Given the cultural acceptance of the role of men as the breadwinner in some parts of the world, the limited prospects of employment for young men may be devastating to their sense of self-worth.
Unemployment and work insecurity impact negatively on the social and mental well-being of men and boys and can lead to increased violence against women. In recent decades women have increasingly entered the formal labour market and have taken on more economic responsibilities.
In many parts of the world, families are now dependent on women’s as well as men’s earnings. Men have had to adjust to changes in the resulting changes in relations within the family.
The workplace can be a major site of inequality and discrimination against women. Shifts in organizational culture towards more positive gender relations, particularly in corporations and organizations with deeply entrenched cultures of male privilege, require strong leadership from senior management levels, as well as changes in attitudes and behaviour of both individual men and women.
Men have an important role in promoting women’s economic rights and independence, including access to employment, appropriate working conditions, control of economic resources and full participation in decision-making.
Male leaders in government institutions, the corporate sector, trade unions and non-governmental organizations can provide positive role models on gender equality by introducing fair employment practices, anti-discrimination measures and gender-inclusive decision making and by combating sexual harassment in the workplace.
Benefits for men of a more gender-equal society:
Men are likely to benefit from broad social and cultural changes associated with gender equality. Less rigid stereotyping of masculinity can increase options for men and yield benefits in psychological well-being for men and boys.
Research has shown that the value-added for men of increased involvement in families includes improved bonding and relationships with children and improved relationships between women and men, leading to greater emotional maturity in men and more enjoyment of life..
In a gender-equal society, there will be less risk for men in experiencing and expressing the full range of human emotions. Men will be able to enjoy more intimate, trusting and respectful relations with women and other men.
Men will have more opportunity for sharing the care and contributing to the growth of young children – both as fathers and as professional caregivers. Research on violence, both personal and collective, has shown a persisting connection of violence to men as a group.
Men are victims of many forms of personal and institutional violence, primarily at the hands of other men. Achieving gender equality will not totally end violence, but moving towards gender equality is an important step towards reducing violence.
THE WAY FORWARD
Moving forward will require increasing awareness of the costs of the current gender equality situation for men as well as women and highlighting the benefits for men of a more gender-equal society.
This will entail identifying and addressing prevailing and well entrenched stereotypes about both women and men, including by challenging existing concepts of “masculinity” and offering alternative ways of being a man.
A better understanding of prevailing stereotypes and expectations about men’s roles and responsibilities, and how they influence male attitudes and behaviour, as well as the ways in which boys are socialized to become men, is required for effective policies and actions to increase men’s roles in achieving gender equality.
The way boys are socialized determines the way in which they will, as young men and adults, relate to women, to men and to gender equality.
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