Care and fatherhood

Fatherhood has traditionally served as a gateway for engaging men in gender justice work through their roles as caregivers — an approach long-employed by many members of MenEngage Alliance around the world. Beyond the important work of connecting with men as fathers, we envision a deeper societal shift that transforms the notion that care is ​‘unmasculine’. Such a shift is essential for achieving gender equality. 

Feminist movements and economic justice advocates have been pioneering this work for many years, around a transformative vision that recognizes care as a universal human need and a collective responsibility that touches everyone.

Through high-level advocacy wins, publications, learning sessions, and speaking engagements, MenEngage Alliance added a critical men and masculinities lens to the feminist-led agenda around this issue, which is often framed as economies of care. 

How we support the care agenda

MenEngage Alliance members and networks work drive the care agenda forward in policy and programmes at various levels — From contributing to the adoption of Argentina​’s 2022 Cuidar en Igualdad Bill to training 1,600 Brazilian public health managers on equitable parental leave policies; from MenEngage Lebanon’s 5 P’s communications product, to MenEngage Alliance South Asia​’s videos deconstructing masculinities in South Asian Media and care inequalities, to advocating for the recognition of care work in economic policy before the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Nordic Co-operation Programme for Gender Equality and LGBTI 2025 – 2030.

The MenCare Campaign, launched together with MenEngage Alliance in 2011, continues to be advanced by MenEngage members, including Equimundo at the global level; and Sonke Gender Justice (Africa), CulturaSalud (Latin America) and CES (Europe).

Why we work on economies of care

Care stands out within progressive movements as a concept that is simultaneously easy for anyone to understand, while offering the depth needed to weave together systemic justice issues to do with economics, climate, and gender. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed society’s dependence on care, while an increasing dominance of militarisation in public policy and discourse has come at the expense of care and the systems of support on which all people rely.

Many members of MenEngage Alliance, with expertise and track-records advocating around care, benefit from the communities-of-practice that come with being part of a global network. This also creates a basis for amplifying our shared impact on issues relating to care and fostering collective solidarity with the feminist-led care agenda.