When men lean in for equality, everyone wins

Do you know men that Lean In for equality? A big shout out for all the men and women that believe in Equality.

Men have an important role to play in reaching equality, and everyone benefits when they do. Children with involved fathers are happier, healthier, and more successful. Couples who share responsibilities have stronger marriages. Diverse teams and companies produce better results. Leaning in is not just the right thing to do—it’s the smart thing to do.

Chris Bosh on leaning in for his #1 teammate—his wife

Miami Heat center Chris Bosh shares how he and wife Adrienne built an equal partnership grounded in supporting each other’s careers.

Draymond Green on standing up for the women in his life

Reflecting on the influence of his mother on the man he is today, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green explains why gender equality is so important.

Becky Hammon on her head coach’s support of her NBA coaching career

San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon celebrates the coach who supported her along the way to making history as the first woman to coach full-time in the NBA.

Gordon Hayward on embracing his role as a hands-on dad

Father to a new baby, Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward describes his family’s routine and why he’s so active in his daughter’s life.

Women still do a majority of housework and childcare, and in many cases husbands’ careers get prioritized. Approach your relationship as a true partner. Couples who share responsibilities have stronger marriages—and their children benefit from seeing their parents model equality.

Communication is critical in relationships. Marriages are stronger when both partners talk through disagreements calmly and listen to each other’s perspectives, and this is particularly important when you’re managing a home or raising children together.

Discuss your goals for your home and career with your partner. Listen carefully to what she wants and be vocal about your own needs. Then keep the conversation going. Talk through unresolved issues and review your calendars and to-do lists together. When you see your partner has too much to do, ask her how she’s feeling and how you can help.

Women are interrupted more than men. Even if you’re supportive of the women in your life, you may not be giving them the airtime they deserve.

According to a survey of graduates from Harvard Business School, three-quarters of millennial women anticipate their careers will be at least as important as their partners, while half of millennial men believe their careers will take priority.

Many women make professional sacrifices to support their partner’s career, and men still assume their partner will do the lion’s share of child care. In addition, couples often prioritize the husband’s career when they make household decisions. Over time, these trends can lead to missed opportunities for you as a couple.

Make decisions as a team. Consider what’s good for both of you, and be clear about each other’s trade-offs. It’s not about finding the perfect compromise with each decision; it’s about achieving a healthy balance over time. If you have children, treat child care as a joint responsibility.

Running a house and raising children is hard work—and women still do most of it. This means many women don’t get the support they need at home, and women who work outside the home often end up with two full-time jobs while their partners have one. More women than ever are primary or co-breadwinners, yet only 9 percent of couples in dual-income marriages say that they share child care, housework, and breadwinning evenly.

Approach the responsibilities of housework and child care as real partners. Commit to doing your share of daily chores, and make sure work is split fairly. Don’t wait to be asked—step up when you see dishes in the sink or laundry piling up.

When men share household responsibilities, their wives are happier and their marriages are stronger. Not only does marital satisfaction go up, but couples have more sex—“choreplay” is real!

Encourage Your Partner to Lean In
By failing to negotiate, women leave money on the table. Over the course of their career, this can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars in loss earnings.

Men typically apply for jobs when they meet 60 percent of the hiring criteria, while women wait until they meet 100 percent. Moreover, women negotiate less frequently and ask for a third less money when they do. As a result, women often miss out on opportunities and income. There is a good chance these dynamics impede your wife’s career advancement and your income as a couple.

Encourage your partner to apply for stretch opportunities and commit to do your fair share at home. When it’s time to negotiate her compensation, encourage her to go for it and role play the conversation.

We’re all held back by gender stereotypes. Women are expected to be kind and collaborative, while men are expected to be strong and in charge. As a result, we’re often uncomfortable when women lead and men nurture, which makes it harder for all of us to be our whole selves.

Show the people in your life what equality looks like. Model a broader definition of manhood and celebrate your wife’s ambitions. If you have kids, encourage your daughter to speak up and take the lead and your son to respect his feelings and care for others. Point out and challenge gender bias when you see it. When you reject outdated stereotypes, others will follow.


Model Equality

Seventy-six percent of people who’ve taken Harvard University’s Implicit Association Test more readily associate males with “career” and females with “family.” You can take it yourself at leanin.org/IAT.