Caring Manhood Can Reshape Relationships, Institutions, and Futures

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May 2026 – Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, welcomes the MenCare Changemakers at the opening of the first World Cume on Caring Manhood.

Ahead of the MenCare Changemaker Summit’s launch, Nyaradzayi stressed the urgency of redefining manhood through care, empathy and shared responsibility – describing it as key to gender equality, violence prevention, and stronger communities. 

She praised grassroots leaders, youth advocates and men’s engagement networks for driving change in homes, schools, workplaces, and policy arenas – noting that transforming social norms requires both personal commitment and institutional reform. 

Nyaradzayi outlined three priorities: investing in care policies that enable men to share unpaid domestic work; scaling evidence-based programs that promote healthy masculinities and prevent violence; and ensuring sustained funding and decision-making power for women’s rights and youth-led organizations.

She linked caring manhood to broader development goals, Nyaradzayi stressing that equitable caregiving boosts child wellbeing, advances women’s economic participation, and strengthens social cohesion.

Calling the summit a “turning point,”  Nyaradzayi urged governments, businesses, faith and traditional leaders and the media to champion positive role models and dismantle stereotypes that limit both men and women. She also emphasized data-driven accountability, the importance of listening to survivors and frontline workers, and the need to measure progress through concrete indicators – such as increased parental leave uptake by fathers, reduced violence, and expanded community services.

Positioning UN Women as a partner to the Changemakers convening at the summit, Nyaradzayi reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to policy guidance, program support, and cross-country learning, closing with a call for collective action: 

Caring manhood is not a slogan but a daily practice that can reshape relationships, institutions, and futures.

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