What kind of strategies have encouraged men to promote gender equality in institutions such as the parliament? The parliament is a gendered institution which has been dominated by men throughout history. Women’s place in the public sphere was unheard of at the beginning of the 20th century, but feminist movements have played a key role in advancing women’s participation. However, this paper argues that gender mainstreaming can only be effective by involving men in changing gendered institutions.

Why are some men opposing the advancements towards gender equality? In the past 20 years, men’s rights groups have emerged in response to feminist activism and legal reforms in India. These changes undermine the legitimacy of some patriarchal arrangements and the objective of such men’s rights groups is to preserve traditional family values and impede women’s participation in the public domain.

How can policies be designed to successfully improve men and women’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH)? This toolkit supports effective policy development by identifying the proven efficacy of engaging men in SRH, tracing the development of global policies to engage men in SRH, and examining policy issues that need to be addressed for effective engagement with men in SRH and to promote gender equality.

What motivates men to support and promote gender equality? Can it only happen on the basis of altruism or do men have something to gain? For over thirty years gender politics have struggled to find answers to these questions. This paper provides an overview of the key debates on the relationship between men and gender mainstreaming. It argues that if gender is regarded to be essentially about women, then it is impossible to recognise the relational dimension of gender and the way that institutionally-based unequal power relations are reproduced.

What are the best practices to promote men’s involvement in SRH while simultaneously promoting gender equality? This report argues that engaging men in SRH and gender equality can lead to better SRH outcomes for men and women, and prevent reinforcing male power over reproductive and sexual decision-making. A conceptual model that can be used for programming, monitoring and evaluation to engage men in SRH and gender equality including men as clients, partners and agents of positive change is provided.

Gender equality at work matters. This World Bank brief is meant as a companion for the World Development Report on Jobs. It argues that closing the gender gap in employment is a win-win scenario for both business and development. Cited studies found that besides women’s social empowerment, closing the gender gap could push income per capita in emerging markets up to 14 percent higher by 2020.

How are the rising rates of women in the workforce affecting family and household structures? In a world where there is still a widespread prevalence of male breadwinner ideologies, women’s earnings represent an apparent threat to male authority. This paper uses a gender perspective to analyse the social consequences of the global market economy on the family unit.

How does the process of decision-making in female genital cutting shape the practice and the response? What motivates individuals to change, and how do broader social factors or contingencies influence the change process?

Men’s Action to Stop Violence Against Women (MASVAW) is a state-wide community intervention initiative and campaign against gender-based violence in Uttar Pradesh, India. MASVAW constitutes a network of men who feel it is their responsibility as individuals and as communities to transform gender relations. MASVAW’s approach is to engage in action at multiple levels, from individual activist awareness raising activities; to advocacy, support and referrals for survivors; to internal change within local political and educational institutions.