Engaging Men in Building Gender EqualityMichael Flood, Richard Howson Men’s roles in building gender equality are currently on the public agenda. Across the globe, there are growing efforts to engage men and boys in building more equitable relations with women and girls. Programs that engage with men have proliferated in fields such as violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health, parenting, education, and work. The last decade has seen the emergence of national and global campaigns, initiatives by international agencies, and scholarly research. Engaging Men in Building Gender Equality brings together the key discussions and evaluations of this field. Engaging Men in Building Gender Equality contributes to the positive impact of efforts to engage men in progress towards gender equality. Some chapters’ contributions are practical, exploring the promise and problems of this work. These chapters are authored by educators, activists, and researchers, and highlight valuable or innovative programs and initiatives and the lessons learned from these. Other chapters’ contributions are more conceptual and political, inviting more thoughtful and critical understandings of men, masculinities, and the question of men’s involvements in feminism. In these contributions, leading writers in the field explore how to understand men and masculinities – how to make sense of the meanings given to manhood, the lives men lead, and the changing patterns of men’s and women’s relations. The book has a global reach. Some chapters offer frameworks and insights applicable to work regarding men and gender across the globe, while other chapters present case studies from particular countries or regions. Engaging Men in Building Gender Equality bridges the gap between contemporary scholarship on men and gender, on the one hand, and practical work with men on the other. The book will be of interest to a wide range of researchers, advocates, educators, and professionals from universities, governments, local and international organisations, and community agencies. It offers a timely examination of an area of policy, programming, and research which is growing rapidly. |
