Private sector action to encourage the engagement of men in household chores and childcare

Gender norms and stereotypes, including social acceptance of gender-based violence, represent significant barriers to achieving gender equality in Azerbaijan. The evidence suggests that these attitudes and perceptions have been among the major factors that have led to severely distorted skewed sex ratios at birth in the population following the high rates of sex selection abortions favoring the male population.  The MEN and Gender Equality Survey conducted by UNFPA in 2018 also revealed alarming statistics, with approximately 32.5% of men admitting to perpetrating physical violence, and an equally concerning 32.1% of women reporting experiencing such violence during their lifetime. 

The joint programme "EU 4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence" implemented by UNFPA and UN Women in the countries of Eastern Partnership was one of the major initiatives aimed at tackling the discriminatory social norms in the countries of Eastern Partnership including Azerbaijan. Despite the series of programme’s achievements, the lessons learned in the course of the strategic interventions of Phase I of the joint programme demonstrate that shifting stereotypes takes time and continuous effort. The second phase of the programme has been guided by this rationale and is expected to build upon the achievements of Phase I by scaling up the efforts to respond to discriminatory gender stereotypes which are among the root causes of gender inequalities.

To realize this objective, the project aims to challenge the prevailing gender stereotypes by working with private companies on maintaining the balance between work and family life, promoting men’s involvement in parenting and childcare through advocacy for responsible fathering practices thus contributing to the promotion of gender-transformative approaches at national and local levels. 

This approach is expected to further promote positive shifts in attitudes towards non-discriminatory gender relations and roles among women and men of Azerbaijan within the programme’s Objective 1. 

Taking this into account, UNFPA Azerbaijan is seeking the services of local civil society organizations (CSOs) to  organize private sector action to encourage the engagement of men in household chores and childcare.

For more information and to apply, please see the documents below.

The activity is an integral component of the Regional Project "EU 4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence”, funded by the EU and implemented by UNFPA and UN Women.