Last week, FW’s Director of Policy and Program Impact, Ruby Leahy Gatfield, travelled to Rio de Janeiro to attend the inaugural MenCare Changemaker Summit — a four-day gathering of 100 global thought leaders to develop practical solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing gender equity today.

The Summit, led by Equimundo, was curated on a simple provocation: what if men cared more? It asked if a new caring lens on masculinity could be the answer to reducing men’s violence, improving women’s economic security and supporting men’s wellbeing. 

In an era of rising backlash to gender equity and moral panic around men and boys, the Summit was timely. Indeed, it was deliberately and unapologetically joyful, designed to counter the doom and gloom we hear and read about every day, with a focus on the potential, capacity and strength of men to care. As put by Equimundo Deputy CEO, Dr. Giovanna Lauro in the closing plenary, “together, we transformed our fears into fuel for social change”.

The work of engaging men and boys can be controversial. It is essential that this work doesn’t divert attention away from the inequalities of women and girls, but rather reinforces gender equity efforts.

“Individual programs can change individual lives. But changing systems requires movements.”

Centering care as core to the way that men understand masculinity and engage with those around them – their families, colleagues or communities – offers a new tool for violence prevention. Not only will men themselves be happier and healthier, but a caring masculinity invites the rejection of violence.  

To bring this new caring masculinity to life, we must acknowledge the men from all walks of life who are already practicing care. Caring isn’t biologically determined, even if traditional masculinity suggests otherwise. But our national policies, workplaces and social structures do not support or incentivise men to embody more empathetic, caring versions of manhood.

Care is something everyone understands, and everyone needs. This new framing of gender equity from the lens of care presents a new entry point to the conversation. Equimundo released a detailed research report on this concept as part of the Summit that you can find here. 

Scenes from the inaugural MenCare Changemaker Summit in Rio, Brazil. Image credits: Instagram @equimundo_org and Ruby Leahy Gatfield

The Summit brought together leaders across seven thematic areas: boys and education, men and care policies, caring manhood in cities and regions, men’s health, safe online spaces, democracy and violent extremism and caring workplaces. 

Each track was tasked not with talking about the problem but with designing a concrete solution. Over two days, each group developed a plan, identified potential partners and funders and built the bones of a working prototype to showcase at the Melbourne Summit in 2027. 

Across every session, the same tension surfaced: we have strong evidence about what works. What we don’t have is the political will, sustained funding or structural conditions to do it at the scale required. Individual programs can change individual lives. But changing systems requires movements. This is what the tracks aim to solve. 

Ruby joined the Caring Workplaces action track, alongside representatives from the International Labour Organization, the World Bank, the OECD, the UN Global Compact, Parents at Work and the Champions of Change Coalition, among others.

The group’s starting point was that workplaces are not designed to value shared caregiving. Care is treated as a cost for employers rather than an investment. And until that changes, the motherhood penalty, the pay gap, and the unequal distribution of unpaid labour at home will persist.

The group spent two days workshopping a tangible, scalable solution to this challenge. Something new and practical that – based on the expertise of the group – employers could actually use to move the dial. Consider this a teaser, as you’ll have to wait for Melbourne 2027 for the grand reveal! 

Australia will host the second MenCare Changemaker Summit in Melbourne in late 2027. The 100 changemakers will reconvene to showcase the working prototypes developed since Rio and to deepen the global collaboration that began this year.

We’ll have more to share on how you can get involved as plans develop. In the meantime, if this conversation resonates with your work, we’d love to hear from you.