Take Action and Stand Against Sexist Comments By Using Your Voice. #JustSayBro

According to a recent study by UN Women, at the current pace of change, we will not achieve gender equality for nearly 300 years. Within the context of our global landscape, with growing misogyny and prejudice against women, women's rights are receding worldwide exacerbated by climate change and humanitarian crises. For too long men have been on the sidelines of the gender equality conversation while holding disproportionate power across cultures globally. We need men and boys to act as allies to accelerate gender equality.

HeForShe is inviting men and boys to complement the work of the women’s movement and create an equal world for all by speaking out against sexist micro-aggressions experienced in everyday life. Microaggressions are those brief, commonplace behaviors or comments that often unintentionally exclude or demean their target. Deeply socialized and internalized in our culture, microaggressions can be subtle, difficult to identify — and even more difficult to articulate in a fleeting moment.

Many men feel uncomfortable at the discriminatory comments they witness, like “she needs to settle down” or “she’s such a tease”, but feel equally uncomfortable calling other men out on them. It even happens in comments about men, with things like “he needs to man up” or “get a man’s job” reinforcing a sexist narrative. This year, HeForShe is helping men find their voice for gender equality by intercepting sexism when it happens. We're creating a movement that redefines a word most men hear every day to give them a subtle, single-word response to intercept sexist comments. We are calling on men and boys around the world to take action in their everyday lives. Just use your voice - Just say Bro.

Here are some resources to help you on your journey to advance gender equality and show up as an ally in your everyday life

HeForShe Resources:

• HeForShe Barbershop Toolbox
• HeForShe x PwC Gender IQ Course
• HeForShe Action Kits
• HeForShe Journal (English) 
• HeForShe Journal (German) 
• HeForShe Journal (Spanish)

UN Women Resources:

• Explore the facts: Violence against women
• Unpack the Everyday: End Violence against Women
• Unpaid care work: Your load and why it matters - UN Women
• Explainer: How COVID-19 impacts women and girls
• Amplify the stories of the unheard
• Women in the changing world of work: Facts you should know
• My Story: End Violence against Women & Girls
• Awake not sleeping - UN Women Europe & Central Asia
• How migration is a gender equality issue
• End impunity for sexual and gender-based violence as international crimes.
• Gender Equality in the UN: an interactive tool

External tools:

• R U OK: Resources for mental health  
• QUIZ: Male Allies for Gender Equality
• TECH DIVERSITY BINGO: A How to Guide for Men in Tech
• TOOLKIT: Starting A Male Ally Group
• FREE COURSE: Gender and Intersectionality (University of Iceland)
• FREE WEBINAR: Global Feminism in the 21st Century Webinar (Harvard University)