- International Women's Day 2020 is about each for equal.
Now, no matter how you interpret that,
it's actually good news for both women and men.
Now, while we normally focus on women,
gender inequality actually holds men back
in three critical ways.
I'm gonna tell you about what you can do about them today.
So, if you're ready to play your part
for true gender equality, then keep listening,
but first subscribe to our channel
and click the notification bell,
so that you get our weekly videos about everything
related to working in male-dominated fields.
I'm Dr. Suzanne Doyle Morris,
and I have been focused on gender balance
in the workplace for about 20 years.
And my own International Women's Day speech,
I wanna start looking at each for equal
from a man's perspective.
Like the dozens of men
that I was lucky enough to interview for my third book,
"Love Your C-Word".
And if you stay to the end,
I will let you know how this year's IWD theme
could help eradicate one of the top killers of men under 45.
So, we all have men that we love in our lives,
whether you're a mother to a trio of boys
or the only son in a women-led family,
women and men are completely linked.
All women have men we know and love, and for whom
each free equal could hugely benefit.
So, let's get started.
The first way each for equal helps men is by
making men question the idea of being a wage slave
for rest of their lives,
as if the entire responsibility of earning
rested solely with him.
Now, over the years I've met hundreds of men
who, upon hearing the title of my second book,
"Female Breadwinners", joke with me that,
"I'd love to meet one of those types of women!"
Now, in that joke, what he's really saying is that
he'd like to live in a world where gendered expectations
as to who will do the earning and who will do the caring,
aren't so gender specific.
Those are outdated and not accurate for either women or men,
but our gendered assumptions are everywhere,
and even describe the way we think about strength.
When someone needs to show steely resolve,
we tell them to man up.
And, if they don't, well, they're being a pussy.
These gendered expectations keep men working longer hours
and it disenfranchises them from their children
and the women in their lives.
And that is no good for any of us.
The second way each for equal can help men is by
making sure that we don't write off all men as misogynists,
when so few technically are.
As someone who's made my living focused on
advancing women's careers,
people are sometimes surprised that I feel this way,
but most of the guys I know are actually pretty great.
Most men actually aren't abusers,
they aren't rapists, they aren't harassers.
True, statistically, violent and threatening behaviors
are, indeed, far more common amongst men,
but it doesn't define the way most men actually are.
Instead, the few men who act on misogyny
are actually getting caught up in unhelpful ways
of looking at the world and their place in it,
They haven't been taught coping mechanisms
for the stresses that we all face
around money, work, family, sex.
And, assuming most men as perpetrators, however,
is the both untrue and limits us all.
So, you can see where I'm going from this,
and essentially, in the comments below,
if you're agreeing, then write a one-word answer
that describes a guy in your family or your life
who has some traditionally feminine qualities.
My beloved brother loves a piña colada
more than a pint of beer, and my husband does the majority
of the cooking in our family,
something every visiting relative and friend
is happy to benefit from.
Both are awesome guys, the kind we need more of
for each for equal, for this International Women's Day.
Now, the third reason each for equal can be great,
it has the potential to quell the number one killer
of men in the developed world, suicide.
With nearly a million deaths in 2018,
across the globe,
suicide has touched most of us
by someone we knew, admired, or even loved.
Guys, in many cases, who, at times,
seem to be the life of the party,
and seem to have it all together,
but wearing a masculine front,
while not engaging your emotions,
is literally killing the men we love.
You know, the men who aren't rapists,
the ones who aren't abusers, the completely run-of-the-mill,
but amazingly awesome guys we surround ourselves world.
It's crazy that we live in a world
where we are literally better placed for diseases
and illness than we've ever been,
but we're killing ourselves, through a lack of hope.
Now, this is an epidemic that the WHO,
the World Health Organization,
estimates that for every one successful suicide
there's actually two dozen other attempts.
Now, if these three reasons resonate with you
and you want to see each for equal move forward,
then share it on your social channels.
And if you'd like me to come and talk about these issues
at your organization,
or anything else related career related progress,
then visit our website,
and check out and register your interest.
So, thanks for watching, because we cannot be each for equal
without talking about what the cult
of masculinity costs men, as well as it costs women.