The program supports male leaders to confront and overcome gender biases and move from opposers or passive supporters of gender equality, to fully engaged equality champions. The curriculum guides men to confront unconscious biases and deconstruct gender norms with a combination of training modules and activities that address both the cognitive and emotional rationale for men’s engagement in gender equality. “The connection between the head and the heart makes this program impactful,” says Khumo Mokhethi, Engendering Industries Change Management Coach.  

In March 2022, Engendering Industries piloted the Men’s Engagement program at power utility Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in Nigeria, initially training 40 men and 13 women as champions during a week-long training-of-trainers. Those champions then led an internal men’s engagement training, reaching an additional 30 employees. In an effort to position IBEDC as a leader on men’s engagement in the region, five IBEDC trainers then traveled to Ghana to build the next class of over 100 men’s engagement champions from  West African utilities GRIDCo, Electricity Company of Ghana, Liberia Electricity Corporation, and Imo State Water and Sewage Corporation.  

“West Africa is a tough zone for gender norms and concepts around masculinity, supported by both culture and religion,” said Mokhethi. “So, we wanted to bring leadership from all of them together with trainers from IBEDC who can show them that change is possible.”  

On the first day of the training, a few of the male participants were skeptical. In pre-surveys, some said that they believed that women and men should not have equal rights and that men should be prioritized for jobs when positions are scarce.  

For Gyan, a turning point occurred as he watched a clip from the film, Hidden Figures, in which female, African-American scientists help the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launch John Glenn into space; the first American to orbit the Earth. “Their success affected the entire nation,” Gyan said, “I felt that if we reach those minorities that we have pushed out of the way, intentionally or unintentionally, and bring them to the table, then we can improve our processes and our bottom line. So, there is a business case for equality.”  

By the end of the workshops, one hundred percent of participants responded that they strongly understood the role of men as allies on gender equality, how gender can contribute to power dynamics in the workplace, and that it’s important to engage men in equality. All participants reported that they were confident they could develop a plan to engage other men at their organization in the effort. “I’m a new convert and I’m preaching the word,” Gyan said.  

After attending the workshop, employees at GRIDCo proposed that the organization devote time at staff meetings to discuss gender equality issues, and Gyan is using his position on the executive team to help drive the agenda. Within a week of the training, he began engaging other executives and board members on the business case for gender equality at GRIDCo. 

Next, Gyan hired two female mechanics. Before the training, he was leading a hiring panel and had considered two female applicants to be at the bottom of the candidate pool. After reflecting on what he learned in the training, he began to rethink his evaluation of the candidates. 

“When I came back and met with my panel, I said, ‘We need to push these women and make them mechanics,’” explained Gyan. “Where I sit, it’s quite a privileged position, so I want to use it to support this agenda,” he said. “I’m somebody that a lot of people look up to in the organization. I’m conscious of that and I’m going to use that to turn the conversation about equality.”