What If Gender Equality Also Needs Men? Rethinking Gender Work Beyond the Usual Comfort Zone, By - Ribeiro Vasco Nhambi

[InstituteofSocialStudiesTrust]

This action brief argues that contemporary gender-equality programming remains incomplete when it fails to integrate men as active, reflective, and legitimate participants in social transformation. While the historical and political focus on women is justified, the systematic exclusion of men from gender initiatives produces an imbalance that limits transformative impact and leaves gender norms unchallenged. Recognizing men not as obstacles but as gendered actors situated within systems of power and vulnerability is essential for building sustainable and culturally meaningful change.

A large proportion of gender-equality initiatives continues to treat men as peripheral, or even as implicit antagonists in the process of transformation. This tendency reinforces the pervasive perception that gender equality is “for women,” resulting in resistance, resentment, or disengagement among men.

Ethnographic evidence from community dialogues and focus groups reveals that many men interpret gender equality as synonymous with women’s empowerment, a zero-sum project that gives more to women while demanding less from men in terms of reflection and behavioral change. This unilateral interpretation distorts the concept of equality and obscures the deeper social mechanisms that reproduce inequalities across genders.

Furthermore, men who experience violence or emotional distress rarely seek assistance due to fear of ridicule, institutional neglect, or the perception that existing services “are not for men.” These silences, institutional and social, expose critical blind spots in the design and implementation of gender-equality initiatives.

Across diverse settings, research shows that men often remain distant from gender-related programmes for structural reasons:
they are seldom invited, they do not recognize the personal relevance of the issue, or they feel implicated as the problem rather than as potential allies.

This distance reinforces hegemonic masculinities that discourage vulnerability, emotional expression, or self-questioning. As a result, harmful gender norms remain intact even as programmes aim to strengthen women’s rights. Paradoxically, the very norms these programmes seek to change among women continue operating unchallenged among men.

The consequence is predictable: partial change, which has limited potential for reshaping social relations. When transformation reaches only one side of the gender system, the broader structure reconfigures itself rather than dissolving.

Research on masculinities demonstrates that gender norms operate relationally: they bind women and men within systems of expectations, sanctions, and roles. Change that targets only women disrupts the balance but does not alter the system’s foundations.

 A transformative approach must therefore acknowledge:

·         That men are also shaped and constrained by rigid gender norms;

·         That harmful behaviors often emerge from socialization rather than inherent disposition;

·         And that effective policy and programming require shared responsibility instead of unilateral empowerment.

 Incorporating men as reflective participants broadens the scope of gender work, shifting it from a compensatory agenda to a relational and structural one.

Recommendations: Concrete Pathways for Engaging Men in Gender Equality

Rethinking Policies and Programmes

·         Explicitly include men as target groups, stakeholders, and partners.

·         Frame gender equality as a mutually beneficial project, not a redistribution of privilege.

 Integrating Masculinities into Monitoring & Evaluation

·         Develop indicators that capture men’s attitudes, fears, vulnerabilities, and barriers.

·         Document men’s silences and resistances as meaningful data rather than obstacles.

Facilitating Safe Spaces for Men’s Dialogue

·         Create structured discussion forums where men can share doubts, fears, and contradictions.

·         Use participatory methodologies that foster collective reflection on gender norms.

 Capacity Building for Field Teams and Service Providers

·         Train professionals in recognizing diverse masculinities and responding without stigma.

·         Strengthen police, health, and psychosocial services to address male experiences of violence or distress.

 Strategic Communication and Narrative Work

·         Promote narratives that present gender equality as expanding freedoms for all genders.

·         Counter anti-equality discourse with messages grounded in empathy, relationality, and shared responsibility.

 A gender-equality agenda that focuses exclusively on women is fundamentally incomplete. Lasting transformation requires recognizing that men, too, are gendered subjects shaped by expectations, constraints, and vulnerabilities.

 Gender equality takes root when all participants, women, men, and gender-diverse people are invited to question norms, co-design solutions, and imagine new social possibilities.

 Transformative change emerges when men are brought into the room not as adversaries, but as partners capable of critical reflection, emotional openness, and social responsibility.

 Only then can gender equality move from a technical intervention toward a cultural, relational, and deeply social shift."