Moe Carrick, Consultant
Feminism can only succeed if men and boys also succeed. Here are 5 ways to rethink how we engage across the gender divide to make sure we thrive –together.
No question: I celebrate feminism and the changes it’s brought globally.
But it’s dangerous to ignore the hard truth that men are not thriving. Shifting demographics and a changing notion of what it means to be a man pile onto a mountain of loss and confusion for many men today. Men commit suicide 3.7 times more often than women. Ninety percent of the US prison population is male. Gun-related massacres –almost entirely at the hands of men– are hugely on the rise in the last 20 years. Addiction rates remain chronically higher for men than women. Yet until men and women fully thrive our most profound societal problems will remain unsolvable.
We need true partnership between men and women in what that benefit all.
Imagine a new world where men are encouraged to be vulnerable –to give and receive empathy, compassion, and support for life’s pain points including depression, loss and fear. Think about what it would look like if more men supported each other in successful self-management, and taught their children that courage includes being scared and sometimes failing. Consider what true equity would look like: women holding half of all top business jobs and governmental offices, contributing materially to gross income, innovation, and stability, joining the workforce early and staying thought their lifetime.
I propose five critical shifts to reach this world of partnership.
- Encourage Men To Turn To Each Other
- Openly Discuss Roles And Equality At Work
- Change How We Raise Our Kids
- Kill The Rugged Individualist Mindset
- Alter How We Value Men As Caretakers And Women As Career-Holders
Moe Carrick is a WMFDP Consultant and a Principal at Moementum, a leadership consultancy. This article first appeared in Conscious Company Magazine, July/Aug 2016