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Researcher: Sagnik Dutta Primary Editor: Natasha Latiff Reviewer: Nishma Jethwa Classification: Audience: Human rights activists

Nature of article: UN report Discipline: Sociological, economic report About the author: Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, Division for the Advancement of Women Jurisdiction: NA Date of Publication: December, 2008 Citation: The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality, United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (December 2008). Introduction: Utility: This report presents a framework that promotes the meaningful engagement of men in the reassessment of gender identities of a society in hopes of promoting movements towards gender equality. The focus of this article is based on the concept that the involvement of powerful men in such discussions can extensively affect the overall potential for systemic change of a given society. Abstract: This article proposes a global policy framework that encourages the involvement of men when addressing issues of gender equity in both the professional and personal domains. The report analyses the impact of rigid gender stereotypes on men in order to explore the possibilities of working around the impositions of such stereotypes. This approach towards issues of womens emancipation is realistic as it considers contemporary social realities in which men usually maintain positions of authority in society; therefore it is important to emphasise the role of men in affecting significant change of social structures that impact gender identities. However, a programme which focuses on the involvement of men in womens emancipation must also take into consideration the diversity among men in terms of class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age and religion. Involving a wider spectrum of men can promote gender sensitivity across a larger spectrum of society and redefine rigid notions of parental roles. This report continues by emphasizing the need for adequate policy to accommodate for the

possibility of mens engagement in domestic roles, for such actions would inevitably discard rigid notions of gender identity. Extracts: 1)Equality, diversity and gender identity The report argues that men should be involved in both programmes that address issues of gender equality within society as well as programmes that recognize gender differences. Gender equality refers to the goal of achieving equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men and boys and girls. Equality does not mean that both men and women will become the same, but that their rights and responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Equality between men and women is both a human right and a precondition for and indicator of sustainable people-centred development. (4) Utility: (A) When working to promote gender equality, activists must take into consideration the fact that differences between gender identities will always exist and therefore such frameworks should recognize these differences while also addressing and promoting womens emancipation. Such movements towards emancipation involve a framework of equality of opportunity while also taking into consideration the diversity of gender identity.For example, the article proposes a framework for equality of opportunity within the workplace while also providing flexible working hours so that men can share some domestic responsibilities. (B) In formulating a discourse for securing the rights of women, it is important to take into consideration the positions of power and privilege men occupy in societies, especially nonWestern societies, so as to construct a rights framework that is grounded in contemporary reality. An agenda for womens emancipation can be meaningfully achieved through securing the support of men. How can one formulate a strategy of gender equity while recognising gender differences? What is the place of men in the agenda of feminism? In what ways can men be involved in projects that ensure gender equity?

2) Impact of rigid gender norms on men This report argues for mens engagement in discussions on gender issues by emphasizing the impact of rigid gender norms on men: The maintenance of unequal gender order in societies is likely to have negative consequences or costs for men as well as women...Recognition of these costs of inequality to men is one of the important rationales for mens involvement in gender equality work.(5) Utility:

(A) The negative impact of rigid gender stereotypes (fixed ideas/ notions about gender)on the relations between men and women can be highlighted to engage men to secure gender equity. (B) Gender stereotypes formulate masculinity in a way so as to exert pressure on both men and women to live up to a set of social expectations. Such pressures will, in the long run, adversely impact the relationship between men and women in a inequitable society. How do men negotiate with rigid gender stereotypes? What is at stake for men when they try to engage with programmes to ensure gender equity? What strategies can be used to rationalise mens involvement in increasing gender sensitivity? What are the wider ramifications, in your community, of gender inequality in terms of social relations?

3) Gender equality and social justice The report links womens emancipation to larger questions of social justice and thereby expands the concerns of feminist scholarship. There is increasing recognition that these other struggles are related to womens struggles for gender equality, which are in part, shaped by womens experiences of other forms of injustice. Beliefs about domination and subordination that lie at the heart of gender inequality (the power of the male over the female) also play a fundamental role in other forms of injustice, for example of rich over poor, of one race over another. Ending other forms of oppression, for example, racism and economic exploitation, depends, in part, on ending gender inequality. (6) Utility: (A) Activists can secure legitimacy for gender equality by linking such issues to other forms of oppression in society. It is important that activists use such strategies in their programmes for they are fundamental ideological frameworks that have the ability to highlight the multiple forms of injustice that constitute the basis for gender inequalities. (B) Activists strategies to secure gender equity are to be framed within the paradigm of securing social justice. How does womens emancipation relate to other forms of social justice? How can activists formulate strategies which place issues of womens emancipation within a broader paradigm of social justice? How useful is the linking of womens emancipation to social justice in ending other forms of oppression in formulating strategies of emancipation?

4) The possibility of reworking gender identities

One of the clear findings from historical and cross-cultural research is that genderidentities and roles are not fixed. Men in many different contexts have changed their attitudes and behaviours over time, often leading to a shift to more equitable gender relations.(6 ) From a historical perspective, it is clear that pre-determined roles for men and women according to their abilities have always existed within society. However, such roles and responsibilities are socially constructed and are therefore not rigid. This approach can be used as a basis for addressing gender equality in order to rework gender roles. Utility: (A) Activists can encourage the rethinking and reworking of gender roles by engaging men in the process of establishing gender equity. (B) Through the discourse of gender and gender identities, roles can be addressed and altered by recognizing the potential of flexible gender identities. How do men adopt and negotiate with changing notions of gender identity? How is it possible to make men rethink rigid gender stereotypes?

5) The changing role of family and gender equity This report attempts to locate changing social structures in terms of changing notions of gender identity. The information and communications technologies revolution, and in particular an increasingly globalised youth culture, which disseminates images of young peoples lives that challenge traditional ideas about social relations between women and men, have enhanced impetus for change...These and other social and economic changes are sustaining and increasing the momentum for mens greater involvement in gender equality work. (6) Utility: (A) Activists can emphasize the changing nature of the family within contemporary society to address the need for more flexible notions of gender roles which in turn will lead to greater involvement on behalf of male populations. (B)The changing perceptions of the institution of the family has to be located within the discourse of the changing roles of men in social structures. How do changing gender identities impact social relations? How can the changing nature of the family be used to impact the way men conceive of gender identity?

6) Reasons for mens lack of gender sensitivity This report tries to take a holistic approach to address gender insensitivities by trying to examine the social expectations from the male perspective. Through this process, one can

recognize the obstacles that men face when they become involved in projects aimed at promoting gender sensitivity. To integrate men successfully in care and support activities, it is important to understand the attitudes and barriers they face in becoming involved. (19) Utility: (A) Activists can encourage men to participate in activities that bring about womens empowerment by breaking down the barriers imposed by patriarchal systems. For instance, a useful strategy to counter domestic violence could be involving men as partners in spreading awareness of issues of womens emancipation. Such involvement would promote a reworking of the gender stereotype of the hypersmasculine male by attempting to infuse gender sensitivity among men. (B) In order to properly address issues of womens rights, one must recognize the constraints imposed by patriarchy. These constraints prevent men from becoming involved in programs for the empowerment of women and instead of conceive of men as antagonists to the project. What are the barriers faced by men in becoming involved in a project of womens empowerment and emancipation? How is it possible to overcome these barriers? How does the involvement of men in care, support activities for women change the way they think about gender?

7) The impact of family friendly working environments on gender relations in the family The report proposes the involvement of the professional realm in the project of gender equity. The emergence of family friendly or flexible employment policies or practices marks the recognition by Government and employers of the increased participation of women in the labour market and the importance of work/home relationships. (24) Utility: (A) Activists can engage with governmental and non-governmental organisations to ensure flexible working conditions that allow men to participate in household work. The participation of men in household work can in turn contribute towards a reworking of well defined, rigid gender roles and thereby become a strategy/programme to increase gender sensitivity. (B) Changes in gender relations are usually accompanied by structural changes in society and therefore prompt meaningful growth towards gender equity. How can structural changes in the workplace contribute to gender equity?

Does increased participation of women in the labour market necessarily lead to womens emancipation? Do flexible working conditions lead men to rethink gender identity? Are there workplace initiatives, like paternity leave, in place for new fathers?

8) Involvement of men in the elimination of violence against women. The engagement of men in strategies to prevent violence against women necessitates a reworking of the predominant social conceptions of masculinity, for it is such conceptions that grant a certain degree of sanction for such violence against women. Strategies to prevent violence against women, whether broadly or narrowly focused, must engage men and boys to reflect critically about masculinities that perpetrate violence against women. Evidence suggests that the participation of men and boys in education programmes for groups and individuals that are intensive and comprehensive, and that use a variety of teaching approaches, can produce positive and lasting changes in mens attitudes and behaviours regarding violence against women (12) Utility: (A) Activists can formulate strategies whereby men are actively involved in gender sensitisation programmes which subvert prevalent conceptions of gender by engaging men in formulating a discourse against violence. (B) The strategic formulation of a discourse to prevent violence against women must take into consideration the gender stereotypes that prevent men from participating in such programmes. What is at stake for men when they shy away from participating in programmes to prevent violence against women? What are the social conditions and gender norms that facilitate violence against women? Does the participation of men in programmes to prevent violence against women have a more far reaching impact in terms of redefining their gender roles?

9) Involvement of men as service providers for women While there is evidence that victims/ survivors may provide may prefer female service providers, it is inevitable that men will be involved in service provision, including as doctors, counsellors, emergency room attendants, psychologists, social workers and lawyers. It is critical that such male service providers receive gender sensitivity training as well as training on appropriate ways of communicating with victims/ survivors and/or understanding the needs of victims/ survivors, so that they can respond to such needs without seeming threatening. (13) The role of men as service providers for women in distress can instill gender sensitivity among men by invoking empathy for womens suffering. These newly developed roles can lead to a meaningful engagement with womens rights.

Utility: (A) Activists can try to involve men in programmes as service providers in various capacities so that they empathise with women who have been victims of male violence. This can be a strategy for deconstructing a paradigm of masculinity that considers violence as an aspect of masculinity. Maybe it would be more appropriate to involve men at different points in the recovery process according to what the woman feels comfortable with. (B) The discourse of gender sensitisation can move beyond the binaries of gender opposition where we conceive of an antagonistic relationship between the male and the female. This can be achieved through a reformulation of gender roles to create a meaningful engagement between men and women. What are the wider ramifications of the involvement of men as service providers for women? Does such involvement lead to a deconstruction of traditional gender identities? What is the role of specialised training for men as service providers to women in making men more sympathetic towards womens rights? Does such involvement go beyond merely another form of work for men to being instrumental in creating substantive notions of gender equality?

10) Engaging men in promoting sexual, reproductive health Engaging men in gender equality work on health must constructively address the ways in which mens power and privilege adversely affect womens health, particularly their sexual and reproductive health, and especially in areas where women have limited autonomy and are subordinated by men. To address these risks, women should be consulted in programme design and assessment of impact in programmes that engage men, and where necessary protective measures must be developed for women. (17) The formulation of strategies for womens health must be informed by a discourse that addresses the power relations between men and women in contemporary society in which men are placed in a position of power and privilege. Utility: (A) Activists should encourage strategies of womens sexual and reproductive health to be conceptualized from a womans perspective by moving beyond a merely clinical, medical approach to problems of health. (B) Even in approaching problems of health in terms of gender, especially sexual, reproductive health, it is important to move beyond a medical approach to recognize how relations of power operate within this domain.

What is the rationale for the involvement of women in conceptualising a policy of reproductive and sexual health? How can men be made to coordinate women in spreading awareness about sexual and reproductive health? What impact does a nuanced approach towards reproductive health have on existing power relations?

11) Interactive learning to instill gender equality Establishing peer groups on gender equality, gender relations, and sexuality for young men in community settings (schools, residential care facilities or custodial institutions) has been a common approach for gender equality work...Evidence suggests that the most promising approach is providing interactive and experiential learning opportunities that allow time for reflection and discussion.To reach particularly marginalized boys and young men it is important to work with them from outside of formal school settings (p 31) The article posits the significance of institutionalising a discourse of gender sensitivity by instilling a sense of gender equality among men. Utility: (A) Activists can encourage the propagation of ideas of gender equality both in formal, institutional and non-formal domains among young men. The impact of ideas of gender equity can contribute significantly to the shaping of ideas about gender roles in young men and thereby eventually secure their support for womens rights. (B) In constituting a discourse on gender rights, the manner in which prevalent conceptions of gender impact men should be examined both in the context of the formal and informal domains. How can ideas of gender equality be introduced in social spaces through informal interaction? How are relations of power that shape prevalent conceptions of gender structured in both formal and informal domains? To what extent are young men co-opted within a patriarchal paradigm? How is it possible to reformulate their concepts of gender?

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