Insight
Social expectations around what “being a man” or “being a woman” means are critical underlying factors that influence the way men and women interact with their communities and families on a wide range of issues.
Social definitions of masculinity influence men’s high-risk health behaviors, from having multiple concurrent partners to alcohol abuse; women’s lower social status in many settings makes them vulnerable to violence and inequitable access to health, education and income-generating opportunities.
And global data show that homosexual, bisexual and transgender people have significantly higher rates of HIV prevalence and mortality than the general population, at least in part because access to health and social services are limited by institutionalized stigmatization and discrimination.
Action
Whether working on projects with a stand-alone gender focus, or integrating gendered approaches into projects addressing another program area, we engage the populations we work with to identify solutions that will be practical, impactful, and sustainable.
The Manoff Group’s engendered programming addresses gender equality and women’s empowerment, social expectations of masculinity, engaging men and boys, and vulnerabilities related to gender identities and sexual orientation.
Change
In Ethiopia, The Manoff Group helped develop Enhanced Community Conversations, which used multi-media to promote transformative gender roles, especially around improving couple communication and men’s supportive relationships with their wives.
While both men and women reported changes in their family communications, the impact was particularly notable among men. 41% reported changes in their relationship with their spouse, 41% reported changes in the way they communicated with their spouse, and 38% reported changing their relationship with their families.