Evolving Men: Initial Results from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES)

This report summarises multi-country findings from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), a component of the Men and Gender Equality Policy Project, which is coordinated by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and Instituto Promundo. The goal of IMAGES is to use statistical rigour and evidence to help inform practitioners' work with men as allies in women's empowerment and gender equality, as well as to help shape policies and programmes aimed at fostering more equity between women and men.

IMAGES involved a 3-year comprehensive household questionnaire on men's attitudes and practices - along with women's opinions and reports of men's practices - on a wide variety of topics related to gender equality in 6 countries. This report includes results from household surveys administered in 2009-2010 to more than 8,000 men and 3,500 women ages 18 to 59 in Brazil, Chile, Croatia, India, Mexico, and Rwanda. IMAGES posed 250 questions to men and slightly fewer to women - questions that were framed around an understanding that gender is not only about women, but, rather, the relations and power dynamics between and among women and men. Through the survey, researchers sought to learn more about how men are socialised into certain roles, and how those roles may change over time and in different social contexts - all while men interact daily with women. Within that vein, the survey also examines men's perceptions of manhood and the pressures they feel to adhere to societal expectations. The study pays particular attention to the stress men feel from the expectation that they must be financial providers for their families.

The report focuses on the initial comparative analysis of results from men's questionnaires across the 6 countries with women's reports on key variables. Topics included health practices, parenting, relationship dynamics, sexual behaviour, and use of violence.

Overall, IMAGES results demonstrate the complex - and at times contradictory - nature of men's behaviour. According to Manuel Contreras, an ICRW gender and public health specialist and an author of the IMAGES report: "Men are increasingly aware of shifts toward greater gender equality in their countries and communities - they are aware of laws against domestic violence, for instance, and generally feel that 'men don’t lose out' in the pursuit of gender equality. At the same time, this awareness does not always coincide with changes in men's individual behaviors."

Findings from IMAGES suggest that men in all countries except India and Rwanda support more equitable relationships and opportunities between women and men. Age plays a factor, too, with young men showing more support for gender equality and more just treatment of women. The study also found that men who view women as their equals are more likely to be happy, communicate well with their partners, and have better sex lives. Among the survey's key findings:

• Younger and more educated men adhered less to restrictive social norms around manhood and demonstrated behaviour that upheld women as their equals.
• Men who felt stress or depression about work or income harboured more suicidal thoughts and reported more use of violence against women. This occurred at a statistically significant level in 4 of the 6 countries studied.
• While women continue to do more child care work and domestic activities, unemployed men and younger men are participating more than is commonly acknowledged.
• In Brazil, Chile, Croatia, and Mexico, men with higher education levels were more likely to accompany their partner to prenatal visits.
• Women with partners who share in domestic duties reported that they are more sexually satisfied.
• Rwandan and Indian men showed the most inequitable attitudes. For instance, 61% of men in Rwanda and more than 80% of men in India agreed that changing diapers and feeding children are the mother's responsibility.
• In all 6 countries, men reported more use of violence against their intimate partners if they experienced violence in their childhood, are stressed at work, abuse alcohol, and view women as subservient to them.

This publication, the data collection, and the data analysis were funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Government of Norway (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norad), the Ford Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Portions of the analysis and country-level work were supported by CARE-Norway (Croatia); United Nations Development Programme, or UNDP (Rwanda); and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA (Chile).

IMAGES also will be carried out in 2011 in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea - an effort that will be coordinated by Partners for Prevention, a joint programme of the United Nations.