Boys’ and men’s privileges are taken for granted and their feelings and beliefs about having control start very early in life. Their behaviours therefore seem almost natural to both men and women. Most people do not think that there is anything wrong or unusual about allowing boys to play outside while girls remain inside or are expected to clean and cook. If we ignore these social behaviours and unequal gender power dynamics, women will continue to be marginalised — and that will only increase women’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change in the long run. By overlooking women’s and girls’ roles and the underlying inequity issues, we risk designing climate plans and projects that do not match all people’s needs and possibly exacerbate the vulnerability of certain groups.

When we understand that we can no longer take social behaviours and beliefs for granted, we have to start questioning and challenging beliefs about what masculinity is. Men’s gender roles usually mean that men often have power over some aspects of women’s lives. More men than women are presidents, prime ministers, religious leaders, judges and generals in armies. Similar leadership roles are held by men within households.

Questioning and challenging men to rethink their roles, beliefs and behaviours will cause some men to become “fearful, resentful, jealous and angry towards acts that disrupt the status quo” (Guthridge et al., 2022).

Without the support of men, however, gender inequality will be more difficult to erase. It will be difficult, for example, to change the cycle of violence against women if men’s fundamental mindset remains unchanged. Men who are in leadership positions have to be encouraged to use their power to advocate for gender equality. Working with men and male youth creates opportunities for stakeholders to have meaningful discussions and engagement. Men are encouraged to share power because inequalities weaken families, communities and development generally. When power and the privileges that come with it are shared equally, there is a greater chance that everyone will be able to build resilience to climate change.

Men who are members of privileged groups and are willing to collaborate with women to address inequities are called allies. An ally who is frequently and actively committed to gender inclusion is an advocate. Advocates learn from women’s stories and intervene to counteract discrimination.

To encourage men to become advocates for gender equality and to support women-led climate change actions, we can use the advocacy tools listed above. In addition, sensitising men to support gender equality and support women in climate change action involves:

• Using people in authority, including religious leaders who support women’s rights, to deliver advocacy messages to men. Professional male athletes who are vocal supporters of gender equality are also very effective at influencing or changing attitudes and behaviours. Men are more likely to listen to other men about why gender equality matters. It may be necessary to get other men, who received prior gender training, to intervene initially, before men with a higher profile become involved. Men can share their experiences about what they have done.
• Asking men to commit to taking a specific action or to making a pledge that is related to advancing gender equality and supports women or more vulnerable populations.
• Getting men to participate more equally in housework, caregiving and parenting. This is the first step in ensuring gender equality in the home.

Highlighting men-led gender equality actions

Some male-dominated organisations have also taken action in the pursuit of gender equality. For example, The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) helped to organise a three-day workshop in July 2022 to train male champions in advocating for gender equality and women’s empowerment, with a focus on widows. In Sri Lanka, some private companies have been taking deliberate steps to change their workforce by hiring more women as mechanics and engineers and extending paternity leave. In Bangladesh, the private sector teamed up with a bank to design loans that reward borrowers for increasing the number of women supervisors in their businesses and for reducing GHG emissions.