The fight for women’s rights and gender equality is not reserved for women, these humanitarian causes can use all the help they can get.
By Alex Roberts
While women’s rights activism can be seen as addressing a specific issue that only affects some of the population, it’s important to understand that fighting for the rights of some people is the same as fighting for the rights of all people. Making sure that women in need are able to access the resources they deserve and need to survive is a humanitarian issue, and that means that everyone who is interested in helping has a place in the system designed to help.
There are several roles that men can take on as allies in the work towards achieving equal gender rights and opportunities. Men in positions of power can use their power to help women with less power, such as male CEOs and company executives making sure their organizations have strong sexual harassment policies, equal opportunities for women to work their way up the chain of command, good maternity benefits, and a non-toxis, welcoming wor environment. Male politicians can also help women by putting forward pro-equality bills and policies that shape our society through our laws.
But you don’t have to have a lot of power, or money, to be a male ally to women. Volunteering your time at organizations that help women (such as the Women’s Centre of Calgary), or donating items or providing your professional services for free to these organizations are other great ways of making a difference.
Get Involved Locally
There is already widespread recognition for those in Calgary making strides in the way of gender equality. The Calgary Chamber of Commerce gives out their Influential Women in Business Awards annually, shining the spotlight on a variety of Calgarians working to make things better for women in this city, including a Male Champion award honouring “a senior executive male who is an ally and supporter of corporate female executives. He advocates for men and women to work together towards gender parity and demonstrates a commitment to champion women in his workplace and in the community” (CIWB Awards, 2020). The 2020 recipient of this award was John Osler from the legal firm McCarthy Tetrault.
Just because the Calgary Chamber of Commerce only awards one notable male ally per year doesn’t mean that there aren’t several more working behind the scenes towards the same goal. What’s important is that every man do his part to make sure his workplace is a positive environment for women.
Another great way of getting involved at the local level is to find local organizations whose mission is to help women and donate things specific to their needs. For example, the Calgary Women’s Centre normally gives out material goods to women in need, which they can only do so long as people donate the items needed (we compiled a list in this article). They also offer financial and legal advice to women who need them, so if you or a male ally you know are in a position to volunteer these skills, you could contact the Women’s Centre and ask if you can help.
Speak Up
Aside from concrete actions such as policy-making and donations, men can also help women by speaking up for gender equality. The United Nations launched a global initiative to encourage men to advocate for women, called HeForShe, in 2014. This campaign, aiming to fight against negative stereotypes surrounding gender and sexist behaviours, features celebrity spokespeople including actors Emma Watson, Simon Pegg, and Kiefer Sutherland as well as CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Having these high-profile backers helps HeForShe get the word out to men around the world that they can help women through their voices.
HeForShe also has specific campaigns meant to drive home the fact that even the smallest actions and words can contribute to making a larger difference. In March, they debuted the #YearOfMaleAllyship social media campaign to encourage male allies to share their stories about why gender equality is important to them. To participate, all you have to do is:
- Post a picture of yourself or another male ally who has a story to share holding a sign that reads #HeForShe
- Write a response to the question “What does gender equality mean to you?”
- Post to social media with the hashtag #YearOfMaleAllyship and tag @HeForShe
- Email the photo and text answer to the official HeForShe email: HeForShe@unwomen.org and they will post your story to their official social media accounts
References
Twitter.com (2014, September 23). Simon Pegg’s #HeForShe post [Screenshot]. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from https://twitter.com/simonpegg/status/514350204108439552
HeForShe.org. (2020). HeForShe.org homepage. [Screenshot]. Retrieved April 11, 2020 from https://www.heforshe.org/en.
YYC for Women 