Gender Unchained: Notes from the Equity Frontier, released this week. Gender equity remains elusive in Canada and globally. Our new book Gender Unchained: notes from the equity frontier, takes a hard look at the many persisting gendered inequities in our modern world, and suggests that we need to rethink our approach to seeking solutions. We think all genders need to take on some leadership in creating new ways to solve problems, as all genders are affected by gender inequity in lots of different ways. The book is a slim volume, pared down to some essential questions. How can equity and world progress occur unless gender equity is solved? How might we do that by embracing the smashing of the gender binary and including everyone in the commitment to ending gendered inequities? How might gender transformative thinking — that is, blending equity goals with all of our other social change activities — accelerate progress? How might being more critical about our long-held beliefs about gender roles, stereotypes, powers and privileges, help us fix this? In the doing, we consider how gender inequity is a moral, economic, legal and justice issue that affects our collective progress. Please have a read, and tell us what you think. See more information at Freisen Press and get purchase information, or get one at Amazon/ Indigo/ Barnes & Noble.

Today we spoke at the Caring Campus project conference in Toronto, Canada. This was utterly inspiring. Generously funded by the Movember Foundation the Caring Campus brought together three Canadian universities to improve mental health and decrease substance misuse among men on campus. Student-led projects took place at Dalhousie, University of Calgary and Queen’s University on a range of topics.

Lorraine did a keynote on gender transformative thinking for men. Together, we did two workshops on gender transformative approaches to health promotion with some very enthusiastic students, faculty, and staff. All of this was well received!

But the most amazing part for us was the wonderful, receptive audience of young men (and some young women) working in universities and colleges on improving gender equity. Campuses in Canada have had a bit of a bad rap of late with tales of crude Frosh chants, sexual assault and harassment, drunken partying and the like. But you wouldn’t be thinking about those issues at all if you had been at the Caring Campus project.

A big shout out to the student leaders and the supportive faculty! We will be hearing more from these emerging leaders, I am sure.

Welcome to Galvanizing Equity. Galvanizing Equity Group Inc is an innovative consulting group led by Lorraine Greaves and Nancy Poole, working with clients in Canada, UK, USA and Australia. We bring evidence to action in order to make change for women and men on a range of issues from health promotion, health equity, substance use and tobacco, mothering and pregnancy.

We evaluate programs, synthesize research and use technology to train and connect people from communities, policy, academia, programs and services. Through connecting in person or via technology, we co-learn and co-develop with individuals and groups across the world to build new or improved tools, frameworks or programs.

Our work is all aimed at some of the most ‘wicked’ problems in society: those that are hard to solve or respond to. Our work is aimed at reducing various inequities — hence our name — that affect health, social and economic status and well being for millions across the world. Recently we have been addressing issues such as how to evaluate innovative housing projects for women with complex issues, how to influence health promotion address the dual goals of improving health and status, and how to make policy changes that reduce inequity not increase it.

We hope you get in touch with us, or follow us on social media to talk about our work, and to see if we can work together.