MenEngage Alliance at the 61st Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61)

A concise overview of MenEngage Alliance’s advocacy, participation, and outcomes at CSW61, highlighting gender-transformative approaches to engaging men and boys in women’s economic empowerment and gender justice.

The 61^st session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61), held in March 2017, focused on Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Changing World of Work. This report documents MenEngage Alliance’s coordinated advocacy efforts, policy influence, and movement-building work during CSW61, with a strong emphasis on transforming masculinities and engaging men and boys as allies for gender equality.

A central contribution of MenEngage Alliance at CSW61 was advancing gender-transformative language within the agreed conclusions. Governments formally recognized the need to engage men and boys as partners and agents of change in addressing unequal power relations, harmful gender norms, and the unequal distribution of unpaid care work. This marked an important shift from instrumental approaches toward addressing root causes of gender inequality.

The report outlines advocacy priorities such as unpaid care work redistribution and paid parental leave. It further emphasizes gender-based violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and cross-sector engagement of men and boys. MenEngage Alliance also contributed to policy dialogue by organizing consultations and side events that generated concrete recommendations for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5 on gender equality.

The report emphasizes youth participation and the Youth Declaration, while critically reflecting on gaps in the CSW61 outcomes, including the limited recognition of sexual rights and intersecting forms of discrimination. This resource offers valuable insights into global advocacy processes, effective alliance-building, and strategies for embedding gender-transformative approaches in international policy frameworks.

Who will find this resource useful? 

This resource is useful for practitioners, civil society organizations, policymakers, and researchers. It is particularly relevant for those working on engaging men and boys, women’s economic empowerment, and gender-transformative policy advocacy.