The Indashyikirwa project from CARE is one that works with men and women together to address gender inequality.
@Aarti Thank you, great to have the links
1 Like
thanks @Aarti will read with interest
1 Like
@Pam - yes, another thumbs up for #NoExcuse - this is a great example.
1 Like
Oxfamâs WeCare Programme also works with men and women and builds evidence that links to programming that links to local and national policy influencing on unpaid care.
Sharing personal stories is always so powerful - needs to be combined with data and business case - we are all human!
2 Likes
Agreed! Sometimes itâs the âhumanizingâ of data that finally gets through, even when mountains of stats fail 
@DanSeymour are you able to run us through the 3 Pâs that you encourage companies to consider as part of the UNstereotype Alliance ?
And for our last question: What are the major challenges to advancing gender equality by engaging men as allies and how can businesses collaborate with others to get it right?
There was a question/comment earlier about backlash and resentmentâŚIâd love to learn how others tackle that problem. What has helped âconvertâ the non-believers? (Itâs easier to convince the fence-sitters I think!)
I also appreciate Isabelâs comment on the personal side of this. We need policies but we also need personal change. We know from our work that laws or policies by themselves are not enough. We need shifts in norms and behaviors as well.
@Pamcornes at the beginning they were for men and women separately, aiming to bring these discussions together at the right time. the work is happening in different phases across different geographies but always with the aim to bring everyone together at the right point. Would be really happy to share more!
A3: The major challenges to engaging men are
⢠Many men are not aware of the issues, donât think it involves them, not sure how to react, or are fearful of involvement (especially in reaction to the #metoo movement)
⢠Many men do not see a âburning platformâ: Often if their organisation has good historic and current business results then they query why the need to change
⢠Another challenge is inertia: Many men feel this is how we have always done things and donât see the urgency for change
In terms of making progress, organisations can partner with a range of organisations who are all working on the same challenge. They can set up internal company programmes to determine the business case for their organisation, set out their ambition towards gender equality, engage leaders and enhance the awareness of their men and seek their commitment to drive gender balance.
They can also participate in programmes like EDGE certification http://edge-cert.org/
which benchmark the company for gender equality and create a community of like minded organisations.
1 Like
Partnerships are a key to success. Part of the value that He For She delivers is putting companies in touch with the best experts and organizations to help them through the implementation. DeBeers worked with StonyBrook Universityâs department for Men and Masculinities to create a program with local trainers. The trainings were really successful and the very high success rates motivated many more men to join. Similarly they worked with communications experts to analyze their campaigns.
1 Like
When we first announced our commitment, there was some concern from some employees that we might take a quota approach or scepticism that there was even an issue in the first place. This began to change as people started to see and feel the change both in terms of leadership commitment and tangible initiatives, and the safe spaces for both men and women definitely helped to be able to share concerns and ask questions. Employees started to realise that this is not a zero sum game and that a greater focus on inclusion and diversity should lead to more inclusive leadership behaviours, more opportunities for flexible working, greater productivity and more development and mobility opportunities which will benefit all employees.
We found that by having external specialised facilitators for those sessions, firstly people were more relaxed to share their concerns and more open to really listening to learn and understand more about the issue. We also found that collaborating with both a global expert but also local expert facilitators who brought deep understanding of local context was really important. For example, in Botswana, our operations have worked with a local organisations called Men and Boys for Gender Equality who have brought a wealth of expertise and understanding to the discussions.
3 Likes
One of the challenges that has come through is the question about what is most important; working on policies or working on culture? While implementing policies is important, As Eric Way at Volvo pointed out in our interview if recruitment policies are not accompanied by culture change then despite efforts to recruit more women they will not stay with the company (because the culture will keep being unbalanced). Employees will also be afraid to use policies that are in place (paternity leave for example)
1 Like
A major challenge is to get people to be personally committed to these issues. The problem is that it tends to be the case that those who are most committed are those who are facing the biases. What we saw in our Women in the Workplace survey is that white men are the least personally committed to diversity â and also the least likely to say they experience bias. And this lack of commitment can get in the way of action. Thatâs why raising awareness about gender inequality is so important. Oftentimes inequality is so the norm that people donât even see it â like they donât see the lack of women because rooms dominated by men is the norm. So it starts with raising awareness. A great approach is to get data for your own organization to understand the issues that are most relevant to your organization. But also to counter claims that âwe donât have a problem.â Providing people with information about the systemic issues and then how they are playing out locally is a powerful combination that can lead people to see things as they really are and lead them to engage.
2 Likes
Group discussions can be one way to help address opposition but in effect we should expect some opposition. If there is not opposition at all then it is likely that we arenât really making the change we desire (especially in regards to social injustices). Lastly, in the workshop space sometimes those who are most vocal in opposition end up being your best allies (given the are sometimes really struggling with the content).
1 Like
This cannot be a one off initiative but must be rooted in something deeper. In our conversation with Catalyst one of the main points that came out was that companies first needed to be clear about why they were doing this and how workshops/trainings are integrated within the companyâs general goals etc before launching the workshops. Understanding the why is crucial. There also needs to be clear action that follows the workshops.
2 Likes
One challenge is that men and boys benefit from gender inequality (they have increased income, reduced child and home care duties, more spare time and more power than women in general). Therefore, moving men and boys to promote gender equality at times means they have to address power imbalances, and relinquish some of the power they have. For example, as a colleague once mentioned, for more women to take seats on the board room, some men will have to step aside.
3 Likes