Raising Caring Men: How #MeToo Can Bring a Revolution in Masculinities

The #MeToo movement has been an opportunity for profound awakening for some, and for increased visibility of a pervasive reality for others, but where do we go from here? How do we raise caring men? And how do we seize this opportunity to create family, workplace, and national cultures that support new possibilities for manhood?

As powerful men are being called out and brought down for sexual abuse and harassment, and we witness an American President bragging about violating women’s bodily integrity, women around the world have responded by courageously speaking the truth about what it means to live in a world without gender equality.

This time of reckoning is an opportunity not only to call men out, but to call them in to positive versions of masculinity that benefit us all. Gary Barker and Riane Eisler invite your questions and ideas as we discuss:

• How can the #MeToo moment revolutionize the way we think about manhood?

• What do we know about parenting practices that nurture caring boys?

• What kinds of new markers and myths of masculinity will support humanizing experiences of boyhood?

• How will we make the shift from control to connection as our most-prized masculine quality?

• What can we do now to create workplace cultures that value the full human experience, including responsibilities for care of children, elders, and our natural environment?

• How do we use this moment to drive changes at the social and economic policy level that will set the stage for a future of gender partnership?

“Thanks so much for this webinar. I will find ways to share what you have talked about with my friends and parents that I work with. It is so easy these days to get lost in grief and fear and lose sight of a broader perspective. That our dear humanity is evolving. And there are growing pains in this. But it helps to get a bigger picture like you have portrayed. To set my sights more broadly and clearly. And with more strength. I appreciate all the patient, devoted work you have done on this topic over the decades. And patient devotion is what is needed looking forward. Thanks again for showing up today and sharing this with all of us. And for humanity.”

Our Panelists and Moderator

Riane Eisler is President of the Center for Partnership Studies and internationally known as a systems scientist, attorney working for the human rights of women and children, and author of groundbreaking books such as The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future, now in 26 foreign editions, and The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics. Dr. Eisler has received many honors, including honorary PhDs and peace and human rights awards. She lectures worldwide, including the United Nations General Assembly, the U.S. Department of State, Congressional briefings, universities, corporations, conference keynotes, and events hosted by heads of State. Dr. Eisler is also co-founder of the Caring Economy Campaign, the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence (SAIV), and is Editor in Chief of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, an online peer-reviewed journal housed at the University of Minnesota that was inspired by Eisler’s work.

Gary Barker is President and CEO of Promundo. He has conducted extensive global research and program development around engaging men and boys in gender equality and violence prevention, and is a leading voice for the worldwide effort to establish positive, healthy dynamics between men and women. Gary is the co-founder of MenCare, a global campaign to promote men’s involvement as equitable, non-violent caregivers, and co-founder of MenEngage, a global alliance of more than 600 NGOs and UN agencies working toward gender equality. He coordinates IMAGES (the International Men and Gender Equality Survey), a pioneering multi-country survey of men’s attitudes and behaviors related to violence, fatherhood, and gender equality, among other themes. He is a member of the UN Secretary General’s Men’s Leaders Network and has been honored with an Ashoka Fellowship, a fellowship from the Open Society Institute, and the Vital Voices Solidarity Award. Gary earned a PhD in child and adolescent development from Loyola University in Chicago and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Duke University.

Ron LeGrand is an attorney, licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, and CEO of the LeGrand Group, LLC, which provides consulting services with a focus on gender-based violence, legislative affairs, and criminal justice reform. Ron has co-authored a Domestic Violence Awareness Month op-ed on Ebony, appeared on Prince George’s County, Maryland cable television programming regarding domestic violence, and was one of several planners and presenters at the recent Band of Brothers event for engaging men in conversations on domestic violence, sexual assault and healthy masculinity. Ron’s career includes 20 years in federal service, including Chief Investigator and Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee where he served as the lead Democratic Counsel of bi-partisan congressional staff working group and convened meetings with advocates regarding the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act which were signed into law on March 7, 2013.

Co-hosted by the Center for Partnership Systems and Promundo.

Riane Eisler, Founder of the Center for Partnership Systems

Gary Barker, President and CEO of Promundo