A week after an angry, mostly white male, mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States and quickly put into motion a series of immediate and planned reversals of Trump-era policies. However, we must still reckon with the aftermath of those who co-signed the policies and rhetoric of the last four years. How can accountability, reconciliation, and shared interests across circumstances help us address the urgent need for equity across race, gender, and class in the US? What strategies work to call these white men in?
Gary Barker, PhD, is a leading global voice in engaging men and boys in advancing gender equality and positive masculinities. He is the CEO and founder of Promundo, which has worked for 20 years in more than 40 countries. Beginning in low-income areas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Promundo’s approaches have been incorporated into ministries of health and education around the world. Promundo is a Global Consortium with members in Brazil, the US, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Portugal. Gary is co-founder of MenCare, a global campaign working in 45 countries to promote men’s involvement as caregivers, and co-founder of MenEngage, a global alliance of more than 700 NGOs. He created and leads the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), the largest ever survey of men’s attitudes and behaviors related to violence, fatherhood, and gender equality. He is a co-author of the 2015 and 2017 State of the World's Fathers reports. He has advised the UN, the World Bank, numerous national governments, and key international foundations and corporations on strategies to engage men and boys in promoting gender equality. In 2017 he was named by Apolitical as one of the 20 most influential people in gender policy around the world. He is an Ashoka Fellow and received the Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices for his work to engage men for gender equality. He holds a PhD. in Developmental Psychology.
Founder and Director of the Center for Research on Men’s Health, Vanderbilt University
Dr. Derek M. Griffith is professor of Medicine, Health and Society, and he is the director of the Center for Research on Men’s Health at Vanderbilt University. In July 2021, he will move to Georgetown University as founding co-director of the Racial Justice Institute, founder and director of the Center for Men’s Health Equity. At Georgetown, he also will have appointments as professor of Health Systems Administration and Oncology. Trained in psychology and public health, Dr. Griffith develops strategies to achieve racial, ethnic, and gender equity in health using an intersectional lens. He has particular expertise in Black men’s health.
Dr. Griffith has published over 135 peer-reviewed manuscripts, one of which was on men and COVID-19 that was Preventing Chronic Disease’s most cited publication in 2020. He is a contributor to and editor of two books – Men’s Health Equity: A Handbook, and Racism: Science and Tools for the Public Health Professional. He has been the principal investigator of research grants from a number of foundations and government agencies in the United States and he is a member of the editorial boards of several men’s health and public health journals.
Dr. Griffith has provided expert review of policy reports from the World Health Organization and he is a member of the Board of Trustees of Global Action on Men’s Health. He has collaborated with colleagues in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States on men’s health and efforts to mitigate racism’s effects on health. Dr. Griffith led the development and dissemination of the Tennessee Men’s Health Report Card that has become a global model for educating policy makers and other stakeholders about men’s health. He has been a leading voice arguing that a gendered approach to COVID-19 and health equity should explicitly include men’s health, and he was named one of 1,000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America by the Cell Mentor’s Community
