Engaging Men in Gender Equality

Engaging Men in Gender Equality

by Felicity Menzies
Engaging men as agents of change is critical to advancing gender equality. There are a number of obstacles, however, that prevent men from taking concrete actions necessary for challenging the status quo.
Our Engaging Men in Gender Equality workshop seeks to engage male leaders in gender diversity efforts by developing participants’ motivation for and commitment to advancing gender equality and by transferring concrete strategies for advancing gender equality.
Candid picture of a female boss and business team collaborating. Filtered serie with light flares, bokeh, warm sunny tones.

Workshop Outline

The program consists of two related modules:
Part A. Why gender equality is a man’s issue
  • Understanding gender
  • Masculinity: the lived experiences of being a man
  • Femininity: the lived experiences of being a woman
  • Sexism without the sexists—it’s not a blame game
  • Gender, power, privilege
  • Dispelling the merit myth
  • Gender equality is a not a zero-sum game
  • Challenging perceptions of positive discrimination—it’s not about ‘lowering the bar’
  • Working with women in the wake of #MeToo
B. How to ‘walk the talk’
  • Concrete steps men can take to advance gender equality
  • Minding your micro-biases: subtle slights (including language) that exclude women in professional settings
  • Engaging other men as gender equity allies
  • Applying the leadership shadow to develop an action and accountability plan

Learning Outcomes

  • Understanding of gender and how it impacts one’s own and other’s lived experiences
  • Knowledge of how gender is related to power and privilege
  • Appreciation for the universal nature of gender bias
  • Awareness of the benefits of gender equality for business, for women, for men, for families and for society at large
  • Strategies for promoting gender equality
  • Techniques for engaging other men in gender diversity efforts
  • Increased willingness to advocate for gender equality
  • Increased commitment to challenging gender-biased mindsets and work practices

Consistent with research on adult learning, we believe that the best learning outcomes result when participants engage holistically with program content. All Include-Empower learning and development programs incorporate experiential learning techniques, including opportunities to reflect on and apply learnings to the real-life challenges facing participants.

Senior male leaders who have undertaken previous training in inclusive leadership or unconscious bias.

Recommended workshop size is 8-12 participants.

The recommended length of the workshop is two hours.

We have a transparent fee structure. Please contact us for details.