Activism & Politics

A range of articles on male feminists, men supporting feminism, and so on have appeared in recent years. These populist articles have recurring themes regarding what men should do. Men should:

How can men help to build gender equality at work? How can workplaces and organisations engage men in progress towards gender justice? In this XY collection, we bring together key reports, manuals, and other items of interest.

Also see the recent report, Men Make a Difference: Engaging Men on Gender Equality, commissioned by the Diversity Council Australia and written by Dr Michael Flood and Dr Graeme Russell.

This Promising Practices Guide identifies and discusses key lessons that have been learned from the implementation of the Men as Partners (MAP) programme in South Africa.  These lessons on promising practices have been drawn from the work of the MAP programme partners, including Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa (PPASA), Hope Worldwide, the AIDS Consortium and their affiliates, as well as the Solidarity Centre and their trade union partners.

White Ribbon Canada has released a framework for the evaluation of efforts to engage men and boys in ending gender-based violence.
In October 2013, White Ribbon began coordinating a National Community of Practice comprising of organizations with projects funded by Status of Women Canada’s “Working Together: Engaging Communities to End Violence Against Women and Girls.” Together we are building a National Community of Practice focused on sharing lessons learned, challenges and enabling factors in engaging men and boys for gender-based violence prevention.

When Men Change tells the story of four men who changed the way they think about gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, and violence. In recent years, there has been increased interest in exploring how men can contribute to promoting gender equality and preventing violence against women and girls. As the evidence base grows, now is the time to answer the question: “What works to engage men in achieving gender equality?”

Our world is a deeply unequal one. Systemic inequalities which disadvantage women and advantage men are visible around the globe. Whether one looks at political power and authority, economic resources and decision-making, sexual and family relations, or media and culture, one finds gender inequalities. These are sustained in part by constructions of masculinity–by the cultural meanings associated with being a man, the practices which men adopt, and the collective and institutional organisation of men’s lives and relations.

How can we effectively engage men in preventing men’s violence against women? How can we mobilise their commitment and activism? The following guides and manuals provide useful guidance on the practicalities of this work. See below for PDF copies of most of these. Also see further below for other resources.

Development cooperation has an increasing focus on gender equality with the aim to improve women and girl’s disadvantaged position and status.
The focus is mostly on women and girls as target groups, while gender mainstreaming is the commonly used strategy. What is often missing is the inter-relational lens of gender analysis; attention is confined to one sex. It ignores men and boys’ situation and their influence on and relations with women and girls.

In this 10-minute speech at the Melbourne Town Hall, Dr Michael Flood had four messages: (1) We know a fair amount about the problem – about men’s violence against women. (2) Men are now part of the solution. (3) We face real challenges. (4) It’s time for a fresh approach.