Oswaldo Montoya has been working tirelessly toward gender equality for years, using his incredible skill set to aid him and his team at MenEngage. Montoya graduated with a Master’s Degree in Educational and Developmental Psychology from Boston College and was formerly a Fulbright grantee. Over the span of 20 years, he has worked as an educator, activist, program officer, researcher, consultant, and counselor. In all of these roles, Montoya used his knowledge to engage boys and men in the construction of a society based on gender equality and without violence and discrimination. Montoya is also one of the founders of the Men’s Group Against Violence in Managua, one of the first groups of its kind in Central America. Along with his own initiatives, he has worked with Puntos de Encuentro and Save the Children.
Montoya now works as a Global Networks Associate for an organization called MenEngage. MenEngage is a global alliance comprised of dozens of countries as well as non-governmental organizations. The members of this organization work toward advancing gender justice, social justice, and human rights. The organization believes that only with these three things can we live in a world full of fulfilling relationships and the ability to reach all of our full potentials.
The focus of MenEngage is to engage boys and men in the movement toward gender equality. The organization recognizes the importance of cooperation in order to truly achieve parity. MenEngage has various goals in order to achieve this engagement. Members hope to create a collective voice that will educate people on the need for boys and men in the movement. They plan to build and improve the field of practice around engaging boys and men in the cause. Finally, they plan to advocate before policy makers on local, national, regional, and international levels.
The core principles at the center of MenEngage are essential to reaching the organization’s goals. These principles state that gender is relational, which means that men and women should be involved in the advancement of the rights, health, and well-being of girls and women. MenEngage is focused on working alongside women and women’s rights organizations in a collaborative effort to achieve equality.
The importance of men and women working together towards equality cannot be overstated. The point of gender equality is to promote positive and collaborative relationships between men and women; therefore, obviously, the best way to reach this goal is to work together in collaborative relationships. Oswaldo Montoya’s work has been centered around this idea for over 20 years, and he continues to do incredible work at MenEngage. Montoya’s focus on using his experience as a psychologist to engage boys and men in the fight for equality is an incredible example of channeling one’s strengths in a way that can make a huge difference.
If you are interested in MenEngage and want to find out more about what the organization does and how you can get involved, you can check out the website here.
Featured Image by Southbank Centre on Flickr
Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
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