Promoting men’s participation in unpaid care work is an important step towards bringing about long-term sustainable gender equality. This study sought to understand the enabling childhood and adulthood factors that promote and encourage men’s involvement in caregiving. It uses quantitative research to present findings from　1169 men across six countries with children aged 0–4, and a qualitative study to present findings from in-depth interviews with 83 men engaged in atypical caregiving practices.

Data from this study suggests that men’s participation in care work is increasing, albeit at painfully slow rates. It found that being taught to　care　for children, witnessing one's father take　care　of one's siblings, respondents' present attitudes about　gender　equality　and having outside help (or in some cases, none) were associated with　men's　higher level of involvement. The resource recommends engaging men in the public health sector, and strengthening ‘gender transformative’ programme interventions in the areas of violence prevention and health promotion.