The Womanity Foundation, Giving Women and JP Morgan host a lunch conversation with Dr Gary Barker on the role of men and boys in ending gender-based violence

“From economic empowerment for women to violence prevention, the evidence consistently affirms that engaging men as partners in gender equality is more effective than only tapping women. And the data is clear that men who support gender equality, are more supportive, democratic partners and get involved in their share of the care work are happier men. (…) we won’t achieve full equality for women until we move beyond binary us-versus-them, women-versus-men thinking.”
38.39. gary barkerWomanity with Giving Women and JP Morgan hosted a lunch conversation with Dr Gary Barker, Founder and International Director of Promundo, who received the 2014 Womanity Award together with  scale-up partner ABAAD. The event gathered around 30 business leaders and decision makers from various industries such as sport, media, banking and luxury goods to discuss how to engage men to advance gender equality and end violence against women.

The conversation covered a range of issues including the burden of violence against women on society and its links to prior exposure of men to violence; fatherhood and caregiving as a key point of entry to engage men in gender equality; as well as direct benefits to men – especially in terms of health and wellbeing – of transforming masculinity norms and adopting more equitable behaviors.

An exploration of the themes explored during the event can be found in the article ‘The Most Destructive Gender Binary’ in Time magazine:  http://time.com/3606536/destructive-gender-binary/

More information: Pro Mundo’s work with boys and men around the world, the Womanity Foundation’s global activities to empower girls and women, the Giving Women network of women who are collaborating towards effective and impactful philanthropy in Geneva and Zurich, and J.P. Morgan Philanthropy Advisory or Endowment & Foundations Group.

Contact: antonella@womanity.org
Antonella Notari Vischer, Director, The Womanity Foundation