Kristen met with Joanna Krotz, author and advocate, entrepeneur and speaker, earlier in July. Joanna agreed to have two of her blogs reprinted on our WAM Website. We hope you enjoy them.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE: EDUCATING MEN IS KEY TO GENDER EQUALITY

A bevy of research projects into how public policies can enlist men and boys in the struggle for gender equality are currently under way in Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, China, Croatia, India, Mexico, South Africa and Tanzania, with more countries in the pipeline.

The goal, according to the International Center for Research on Women, the organization conducting the research, is to provide “insights on how to achieve large-scale impact in promoting more cooperative and equitable relations between women and men, reducing gender inequities and calling attention to men’s gender-related vulnerabilities.”

And findings from the projects, just released in a sort of interim report card, recommend a host of comprehensive policies that could engage men and boys in ways that benefit both sexes.

The report offers eight recommendations for policies that can achieve those aims, including these highlights:

• Education, especially early childhood programs that create classroom atmospheres where girls are freed from sexual harassment and sexual violence, and where boys are freed from bullying and violence from other boys.

• Public security, including armed forces, police and real deterrents that act as a force for protection rather than oppression and that take women’s accounts of violence seriously and hold police accountable.

• Health policies that pay heed to the gender-specific needs of women and men.

• Violence- prevention policies that target men and boys, including programs for male perpetrators that are integrated with the judicial sector.

• Engaging men as fathers and caregivers, including paternal leave policies, parenting education courses and programs that promote men’s participation in prenatal care and help them see how their families benefit from men’s greater participation in family life.

All this is helpful and well thought out. Now, how do we put it into action?

For more information on Joanna and to read more of her blogs, please visit her site at www.joannakrotz.com