This year, International Men’s Day will be marked on Tuesday 19thNovember 2019. Each year, its impact is growing with over 200 organisations holding events in the UK in 2018.
As employers drive towards achieving greater gender diversity, a lot of focus and initiatives are placed on women. Recognising International Men’s Day within your organisation provides an ideal opportunity to focus on men and boys.
The intention behind International Men’s Day in the UK is the opportunity to:
- Highlight some serious issues effecting men and boys and their wellbeing
- Make a difference to men and boys’ lives
- Celebrate Britain’s men and boys in all their diversity
- Have some serious fun.
We have collated 7 ideas of ways in which your organisation can join in International Men’s Day this year to give you inspiration to get involved:
Idea #1
Create a mini-conference with guest speakers talking about the wider issues facing men and boys in 2019 such as mental wellbeing
Idea #2
Hold a networking event for fathers and grandfathers
Idea #3
Organise a social event for employees to bring sons into the workplace
Idea #4
Create an internal communications opportunity where men take a selfie with a poster completing this phrase: “I am a man who ….” followed by the hashtag #IMD2019
Idea #5
Feature the life stories of a handful of male role models in internal magazines or intranet and external social media
Idea #6
Represent your organisation at a regional or national event
Idea #7
Organise an event to celebrate and recognise the key gender diversity champions in your organisation.
And if this has given you some inspiration, here are some more details about International Men’s Day:
It was started in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago and is now celebrated in over 80 countries with the backing of UNESCO.
The UK themes for the Day are always “Making A Difference for Men and Boys” and “How we can give men and boys better life chances”.
These themes are designed to help more people consider what action we can all take to “Make A Difference” and “Give men and boys better life chances” by addressing some of the issues that affect men and boys including:
- The high male suicide rate
- The challenges faced by boys and men at all stages of education including attainment
- Men’s health, shorter life expectancy, mental wellbeing and workplace deaths
- The challenges faced by men as parents, particularly new fathers and separated fathers
- The negative portrayal of men, boys and fathers.
Whilst we’ve provided suggestions for celebrating men and boys specifically on International Men’s Day, we encourage all employers to focus on creating inclusive cultures where everyone can be celebrated for their diversity.
If you would like support in bringing these ideas to fruition, putting in touch with fabulous guest speakers or how to create a more inclusive culture, contact us now.
#internationalmensday
#IMD2019
#genderdiversity
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