Over the past 20 years, women have joined the labor market in a sustained manner in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Currently companies recognize that gender equality is necessary for competitive business performance.
Despite this recognition, gender inequality persists in the labor market and continues to be a challenge for all the countries in the region. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women, who make up most frontline workers at health centers and primary caregivers in households.
Although companies in the region are implementing measures to address gender equality, very few engage men as allies.
Men can contribute a great deal to achieve gender equality at the family level, as domestic partners and in their roles as fathers at home — and in their roles as co-workers and leaders in organizations. Men are an active part of the solution. The importance of the role of men as allies for equality is being increasingly recognized, and there is a growing need for guidance for companies that want to integrate men into their gender equality efforts.
IDB Invest, Mercer and Promundo have jointly prepared a new report, Equality Needs Everyone: The Role of Men in Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, to bring visibility to the important role that men can play to contribute to gender equality and diversity, and the actions that the private sector can develop to transform them into allies for women’s empowerment.
The purpose of this report is to inspire action, especially amidst the COVID-19 crisis, so that LAC companies can attract, develop, strengthen and boost the participation of men as allies for equality.
Africa