Convincing men that they are as likely as women to benefit from gender equality is the strongest argument to get them involved in reaching that goal, experts said at the United Nations on Wednesday.
Accepting equality and rejecting gender stereotypes would help end discrimination against men seeking jobs typically done by women, increase their participation in family life, and ease the economic burden of supporting their families as more women enter the workforce, they said.
"It has become clear that if we continue to live in a society where gender inequality exists, we all lose," Martina Vuk, Slovenia's minister for social affairs and equal opportunities, said on day three of the UN 59th Commission on the Status of Women.
Iceland, for example, has Europe's highest percentage of women in the workforce, at 71 per cent according to the World Bank, yet also one of the most segregated labour markets, said Eyglo Hardardottir, the country's minister for social affairs.
In Austria, less than 2 per cent of kindergarten teachers are men, said Alexander Wrabetz, director general of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF).
In addition to male kindergarten teachers, they included a woman believed to be the country's sole female metalworker, as well as female music conductors, who make up only 17 per cent of all Austrian conductors.
Yet gender stereotypes rob men of openly enjoying domestic tasks traditionally done by women, said Bafana Khumalo, co-founder of South Africa's Sonke Gender Justice, an NGO working with men and boys to promote equality and fight domestic and sexual violence.
When asked to consider what men and women in their households did over a 24-hour period, the men in the workshop realised that while they enjoyed leisure time after work and school, the women and girls returned home only to cook and clean.
"Gender equality is not just about policies," he said. "It's about the quality of life."
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