This post is written by Gary Barker and Brian Heilman from Equimundo.

  • The problem: Men continue to carry disproportionate power in political, economic, social, and intimate life, curtailing women’s opportunities and well-being.
  • Why it matters: This power is propagated and sustained by pervasive norms about masculinities that have gone unchecked for too long.
  • The solution: We need to engage everyone, especially men and boys, in drawing greater attention to the pervasive influence of masculine norms, and how they stand to harm everyone.How often do we get to sit with the men in our lives and hear from them about their deepest aspirations and regrets, values and goals? Most men head to the door or look down at their phones if we say, “How are you really doing?”

For a lot of men, the ideals of “being a real man” or “manning up” preclude these exact kinds of essential conversations. Yet they are vital, not only for our own relationships, but also for the health, safety, and success of our communities. For almost fifteen years, the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) initiative, which Equimundo has led, has prompted these kinds of discussions and insights at a much bigger scale.

Men’s greater political, economic, and social power in public institutions, in work and school settings, and in their households and intimate lives often harm and limit women’s opportunities and wellbeing.

To date, tens of thousands of men and women in nearly 50 countries have shared deep reflections via our extensive questionnaires. Spanning themes such as childhood experiences, gender attitudes, masculinity, domestic work, childcare, violence, and more. IMAGES ultimately aims to drive progress toward more equitable, caring, and nonviolent versions of manhood for the benefit of all.

The greater good

Men’s greater political, economic, and social power in public institutions, in work and school settings, and in their households and intimate lives often harm and limit women’s opportunities and wellbeing. But evidence also shows that men and boys' own health and well-being are also harmed by outdated norms related to masculinity. In this context, where progress has stalled or even reversed, it is imperative to ask: Where are men on gender equality?

The world is missing out on important opportunities to improve a host of outcomes - from women’s empowerment to greater health and wellbeing - if it does not engage men and boys more fully in gender equality, especially by advancing healthier ideas about manhood. To this end, what have we learned from these tens of thousands of conversations, in brief?

First, IMAGES data show concretely how power is manifested in daily life, including in conflict in households, who makes decisions (mostly men), who decides when sex occurs, and/or whether women can even move freely in their communities (again, mostly men). Our respondents often describe childhood homes where the most important decisions – related to spending money, children’s education, and otherwise – were dominated by their fathers or other men. Such decision-making power carries through into their adult lives, where respondents often identify men as having the “final say” when it comes to financial decisions or even whether and when women can leave the home. Many men also report using various forms of violence against wives or partners, perhaps the harshest form of men’s power over women.

Children who see their fathers do more care work (meaning the hands-on care of children and household tasks), who see mothers working outside the home, and who see fathers practicing and living equality in the home are more likely to live those attributes in their own relationships as adults

Making changes that last

IMAGES also speaks to how gender inequitable attitudes and practices are commonplace, harmful and slow to change – but also how they can change if men in households do gender relations differently. To this end, generational influences are tremendously important. Parents and families model gendered attitudes and practices that are carried forward by their children. From a developmental perspective, memories of household domination by their fathers or other men can often normalise – for boys and girls, women and men, and all individuals – the idea that men’s dominance and prominence from the home to the workplace is simply the way “things should be.” But conversely, children who see their fathers do more care work (meaning the hands-on care of children and household tasks), who see mothers working outside the home, and who see fathers practicing and living equality in the home are more likely to live those attributes in their own relationships as adults. These patterns shine through clearly in the data. Gender equality and caring manhood pay forward.

In short, the final essential point is that men’s own health and well-being are harmed by outdated norms related to manhood and gender roles. IMAGES findings show that the men who hold more restrictive or inequitable views about manhood are also the men more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, suffer stress and depression, and avoid seeking formal healthcare. For most, the so-called ideal of “being a real man” does not produce ideal outcomes at all; it erodes relationship quality, isolates men from others in their lives, and can even take years off their lives due to poor health. This is on top of the tremendous harms inflicted upon women and girls when men express the worst versions of men’s domination and power over them.

Changing policy

What are the implications for policy? First off, the findings confirm that men on aggregate are changing too slowly and in some countries may be moving backwards on gender equality. The first thing policymakers should do is include discussions about men and manhood in their women’s empowerment initiatives – whether supporting the care economy, women’s economic empowerment, maternal and child health, and the like. That means research with men, listening to men and actively building male allyship into their policies. It is clear that the mere passing of time has not led to a gender equal society, and alarmingly IMAGES data have also revealed that the youngest generations of men rarely have more equitable views than the oldest generations.

National ministries and policymaking bodies focused on gender equality should use IMAGES and other gender data to inform policy by increasing male allyship for equality. Governments should also carry out their scans and reviews of their policies on ways to engage men and boys in promoting gender equality. Efforts to promote real change in social and gender norms through a gender-transformative approach – meaning an approach that specifically names and unravels harmful modes of masculinity and femininity – should be integrated across sectoral policies, from health sectors, to education and employment ministries. One example of how that has happened comes from Rwanda, where the government is partnering with a Rwandan NGO, Rwamrec, and Equimundo to scale up at the national level gender transformative parent training informed by IMAGES results.

From the highest levels down to our own relationships, the conversation about positive masculinities and gender equality must become more frequent and impassioned. We still have a long way to go.

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(Image Credit: Unsplash)