Patterns of economic growth differ in quantity and quality of employment. This, in turn, shapes women’s and men’s prospects of finding work that provides good terms and conditions. This paper reviews evidence on globalisation has impacted the real economy, in terms of employment and social conditions of work for women and men across a wide range of countries. For its evidence base, the paper draws on an extensive body of empirical literature, including UNRISD’s own commissioned research.

Rape and sexual forms of violence against women are often the least visible and reported. While the underlying causes of sexual violence are multiple and complex, among the core causes are unequal gender norms and power dynamics between men and women. It is increasingly argued that men’s use of violence is a learned behaviour, rooted in the ways that boys and men are socialised.

Do major global health actors including programs, research, and institutions have strategies and policies in place to ensure that men and women benefit equally, and that health inequity is not perpetuated? This study analysed the recent Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study to compare rates of morbidity and mortality risk between men and women.

How can policies be developed and implemented to achieve gender equality, reduce health inequities and improve both men and women’s health? This policy brief highlights the rationale for policy approaches to promote men’s health, as well as successful policy initiatives that have promoted gender equality and made a positive difference for men’s health.

This report stresses the importance of working with men and boys to transform masculine norms and high-risk behaviours, to meet men’s differential health needs, and to address social inequalities and biases that influence men and women’s health risks and outcomes. The authors assert how gender inequality damages not only the health of women and girls, but also has emotional, psychological and physical consequences for men’s health, often manifested in risky and unhealthy behaviours, and reduced longevity.

How can a theoretical framework be used to better understand the influence of norms of masculinity on men’s health, how these social norms create health disparities among men, and to provide direction for health interventions aimed at men?

Does men’s involvement in SRH increase their power over their female partners or does it actually help to empower women? What is the impact of involving men in areas that have traditionally been the domain of women, such as childcare, pregnancy and fertility control? In response to these critical queries, this paper assesses the impact of men’s involvement in SRH programs by providing a meta-analysis of published evaluations of SRH interventions targeting heterosexual men since the 1990s.

What are the key issues around involving men in reproductive health? This paper reviews a variety of existing global data on men’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs, attitudes and practices and identifies current gaps in this body of knowledge. The authors also highlight policy work that support and institutionalise male involvement in reproductive health, as well as programs that involve men in reproductive health, emphasising the evolution of such programming and policy, as well as best practices and success stories.

How can men be supported to overcome rigid gender norms that can be damaging to their own and their partners’ SRH? This article discusses the limitations of an instrumentalist approach to men’s involvement in SRH to solely benefit women’s health, and the problematic ways in which men’s sexual health and sexuality tends to be treated as homogenous and one-dimensional, which undermines men who are marginalised or themselves challenge gender roles.

How can social movements become more gender-just? This article illustrates the challenges and successes of integrating gender equality as a core principle into social justice movements. The findings are based on three case studies analysing experience from the global human rights movement, with a focus on Amnesty International, the CLOC Via Campesina movement in Latin America, and the Occupy movement in the United States. The case studies have been developed as part of the three-year BRIDGE Cutting Edge programme on gender and social movements.