Activating Gender Equality in 2018

Jack Myers Media Ecologist and Founder of MediaVillage and WomenAdvancingorgamp160provides some insights during his 2016 TEDWomen talk and in his 2017 book quotThe Future of Men Men on Trialquotamp160amp160Myers posits that the quotpatriarchy has been a disservice to womenamp160it39s also no longer serving the best interests of men and it39s threatening the future of menquotamp160 Upon reflection these words prophesied the Time39s Upamp160movementamp160 They also drew attention to a growing need to reconcile vestiges of the quotold boys networkquot with the openness of Gen Z and younger MillennialsSo how do we move forwardFor starters we can take a page out of the women39s movement39s playbook and launch organizations designed to meet specific needs of young men This is clearly easier said than doneamp160butamp160that doesn39t mean we shouldn39t tryamp160 Our goal must be to provide a sense of community confidence call to action and opportunities for peertopeer voices to be heardamp160 Many organizations for women and girls immediately come to mind including Girl Scouts I Amamp160Thatamp160Girl She Runs It Women in Communications The Female Quotient New York Women in Film Women in Animation WIRe and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Mediaamp160 Each has a different base expertise and monetization structure and all are solutions orientedamp160There are far fewer options available to support boys or young menamp160 You need look no further than your own family or peer group to see how many young men are struggling due to a lack of role models and conflicting expectations at home and in the officeamp160 Other than fraternities athletic clubs and sports teams the only organization that quickly comes to mind to lend support is the Boy Scoutsamp160 Of course young men are free to join gender neutral andor LGBTQ and diversity associationsamp160 Butamp160the reality is that it39s counterintuitive for mainstream companies to prioritize support for young men particularly young white heterosexual men as traditional expectations are that they are most apt to succeedamp160Recognizing the dearth of positive proactive support groups dedicated to the entire spectrum of young men particularly in the media industry Myers argues that quotwe need a movementquot and proposed five initial steps in support of The Future of Men Movement paraphrased belowAdvocate for the positive portrayal of menboys in media This is within your control and change is immediate with broad reachamp160 It is a mustEncourage boys to stay in high schoolamp160 Support their pursuit of HEAL careers Health Education Administrative and Library Sciencesamp160just as we encourage girls to seek STEM careers Science Technology Engineering and MathIdentify and sharpen their basic lifeskills to ensure success collaboration multitasking networking storytelling and communicationsCreate a safe space for men39s support systems including mentoring and peer groupsamp160 Seek out women39s mentoring groups within companies as they are often best positioned and most qualified to equally embrace and support young men and women entering their workforceRespect stayathome dadsamp160 Remember it39s a choiceamp160 They are not outofwork dadsWhen thinking about how to most effectively activate a gender movement for men it is critical to leverage technology including social media and mobile apps as this generation is most literate in this spaceamp160 Young men are most likely to embrace change and admit insecurities in familiar nonthreatening environmentsamp160 To this end women may hold the key to empowering men to embark on the journey for gender equality and in doing so we may all arrive at a benchmark for true universal gender equalityamp160 The time to act is nowClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Activating Gender Equality in 2018

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Mary Ellen Holden

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