MenEngage & Accountability

Work to engage men and boys around gender equality and women’s rights has gained momentum and interest in recent years.

But this interest comes with a risk that such work is done in ways that are counterproductive to the needs and wishes of women and girls and other historically oppressed groups.

Even well-meaning interventions can inadvertently support the inequalities that feminist and women’s movements have been working so hard to dismantle for generations.

So how can we make sure projects targeting men and boys make real contributions to gender justice, women’s rights, and anti-oppression work? How can we make sure our work adds value to and supports the most marginalised groups who experience multiple forms of oppression? Those are some of the questions at the heart of accountability.

Accountability to the women’s movement and to other historically oppressed social groups is a necessary practice for building collaborative and equitable partnerships.

For MenEngage Alliance, being accountable means to:

Be critically aware of one’s own power and privilege, and be open to criticism.

Take action to address personal and institutional practices that go against our principles of gender equality and human rights, acknowledging any harm caused and making amends.

Respect and promote women’s leadership in the gender equality movement.

Create structures of consultation and partnerships with women’s rights organizations.

Accountability requires the development of a receptive capacity in men and others who have been placed in positions of power and privilege so that they can listen to the perspectives of the oppressed groups in order to become authentic allies.

Download the Accountability Standards and Guidelines in:
English
Russian
Spanish

Download the Accountability Standards and Guidelines in:
English
French
Russian
Spanish

The Code of Conduct helps members remain consistent with the values and principles of the Alliance, both in their personal lives and in our professional and public work. It ensures a standard of accountability of all member organizations to others with whom we work, as well as an adherence of individual employees and volunteers of member organizations to the Core Principles of MenEngage Alliance.

Download the Global Code of Conduct in:

English

Spanish

What does MenEngage Alliance need to do better?

Read what feminists, women’s rights, LGBTIQA+ rights, and gender justice activists had to say about MenEngage Alliance at an Accountability Dialogue session in New York in March 2018. The ‘On The Spot’ report includes 17 recommendations for MenEngage Alliance, our members, and anyone working in the field of men and masculinities.

The Critical Dialogue on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Justice Summary Report captures global experiences, concerns, lessons learned and recommendations from individuals working on women’s rights and empowerment, and those working to engage men and boys.

Read what accountability means for individuals, organizations and states in the Change Begins Within: Practices and Processes of Accountability report. The report provides an insight into discussions held during the 2nd MenEngage Global Symposium in November 2014.