HeForShe Launches #YearOfMaleAllyship Campaign

(New York, 1 March 2020) On Zero Discrimination Day, HeForShe launched the #YearOfMaleAllyship campaign sharing the stories of men all over the world and why equality matters to them. In doing so, we hope to create a global movement that normalizes what it means to stand with women for equality.

An ally can be someone who amplifies women’s voices, who educates themselves about different identities and experiences, someone who challenges the status quo and someone who takes action. 

Male allies are those men committed to building positive relationships with women, taking into consideration the inequalities present in the world today and taking everyday actions to address them. This could be mentoring a female colleague, calling out sexist language or questioning gender stereotypes. Allies make active efforts to not only take action themselves but to inspire and encourage others to do the same!

To dismantle the social and gender norms that can be harmful to men (and all of us), it’s necessary to express new norms of acceptance and respect. We need men from all walks of life to demonstrate this openly and publicly. 

One story at a time, we hope to stimulate healthy ideas that take into account gender in all its forms. Once we have truly overcome this as a society, we can all be free to be our true selves. 
 

How to participate
 

To participate from March 1^st:

• Take a photo of yourself or a male ally who you think would like to share their story holding a

sign with #HeForShe

• Add a personal response to the question: Why does gender equality matter to you?

• Post on your social media channels using #YearOfMaleAllyship and tag us @HeForShe

• Email both to HeForShe@unwomen.org and we will also post on our Instagram page

No story is too big or too small. Through sharing the stories of everyday men and the many ways they take action for gender equality, we hope to inspire, motivate and cultivate the idea that even the smallest actions can result in huge consequences.