Transforming MEN’talities
Led by UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector, the Transforming MEN’talities initiative aims to change mindsets and policies by uplifting promising narratives and practices of positive masculinities and shedding light on how to successfully engage men and boys for gender equality.
Launched in Costa Rica in 2015, it does so by providing policymakers and practitioners with recommendations for gender-transformative action.
This includes developing and providing knowledge, promising practices, network support, and action-oriented practical tools to key stakeholders, especially policymakers, to change policies alongside mindsets.
Transforming MEN’talities aims to...
- Build knowledge and evidence by conducting research on context-nuanced norms of masculinity and mapping existing legal frameworks and policies that successfully engage men and boys for gender equality to inform gender-transformative policymaking.
- Strengthen skills by engaging key stakeholders, especially men and boys, to challenge sexist stereotypes, engage critically with certain norms of masculinities, and build individuals’ social emotional skills.
- Advocate for change by kick starting national projects, solidifying partnerships and launching media campaigns with role models to shift narratives around gender roles.
Why is it important?
Despite great strides globally towards gender equality in recent decades, gender-based violence, discrimination, and inequalities remain a reality.
- OXFAM reports that women and girls undertake more than three-quarters of unpaid care work in the world.
- Patriarchal masculinities play an important role in driving conflict and insecurity worldwide, marginalizing women, girls, and LGBTQIA+ individuals, hurting men and boys themselves and limiting the potential of societies.
Engaging men and boys
It is proven that engaging men and boys can help advance the gender equality agenda and contribute to the creation of more sustainable and inclusive societies.
Men who adopt healthier and non-violent views of “what it means to be a man” take better care of others and themselves, and improve their quality of life, well-being and relationships.
Questioning gender roles is powerful
Equimundo reports that “dads with more equitable attitudes related to gender are 1.6X more likely to be highly involved in parenting care” than fathers who have more inequitable attitudes.
Identities intersect and form differentiated inequalities among groups of people. Ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, for instance, play an important role in gender inequalities.
Equimundo’s State of America’s Fathers 2023 Report notably points out that “Black fathers do double the care of white fathers”. To remedy gender inequality, an intersectional and context-based approach to masculinities is necessary.
Addressing root causes of violence
In addition to treating the symptoms of gender-based violence, we must uncover their origins and shed light on whole-of-society solutions advocating gender equality as a positive project for all.
Since 2020, 1 in 2 women reported having experienced or witnessed violence. UNDP’s 2023 Gender Social Norms Index highlights that “more than a quarter of the world’s people believe that it is justifiable for a man to beat his wife.”
Violence against women and girls impacts their agency and wellbeing negatively and is a key driver of gender inequality.
By transforming mentalities, we can pave the way to a more equal society, free of violence against girls and women.
Improving men’s health by promoting non-violent masculinities
Studies show that men who adhere to harmful gender norms around masculinity, like being the sole and main provider, can be three to six times more likely than their peers to report having perpetrated sexual harassment.
Conversely, Equimundo’s 2022 IMAGES report highlights that “Men who live and believe in gender equality are healthier and happier while men with restrictive gender attitudes are more likely to engage in harmful behaviours like risk-taking, substance abuse and more prone to depression and suicidal thoughts.”
Partners
In 2020, UNESCO joined forces with four expert partners to leverage their unique high-level expertise, know-how, networks, partners, and effective resource mobilization:
Transforming MEN’talities - Around the world
- Zimbabwe, 2018: UNESCO developed the "Challenging constructions of masculinity that exacerbate marginalization of women and youth" project in partnership with the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service.
- Mozambique, 2019: an interregional seminar on “Men, Masculinities and Gender Equality in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean” with SAfAIDS and Rede Homens pela Mudança (HOPEM) from MenEngage Alliance.
- Online, 2020: to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, UNESCO organized a “Transforming MEN’talities roundtable”. It addressed the root causes of violence against women by calling on the international community to shift narratives of men and masculinities, deconstruct stereotypes and address violent patterns of behaviour and mentalities.
- India, 2021: a national report on “Transforming MEN’talities: gender equality and masculinities in India” looked into the concept of “masculinities” in the country. The report identifies barriers to positive masculinities, analyzes existing policy frameworks at the global, national, and regional levels, maps local stakeholders, and presents several case studies and context-specific recommendations.
- Morocco, 2022: a report was published on Masculinities and social transformations in Morocco. It provides an analysis of social and imaginary representations of masculinities.
Contact us
Anna Maria Majlöf
Chief of the Inclusion, Rights and Intercultural Dialogue Section
Research, Ethics and Inclusion Division - Social and Human Sciences Sector
UNESCO
am.majlof@unesco.org
Publications
