Webinar: “New Masculinity: The Key to Synergy Between Women and Men”

by Christine Marlet | Oct 14, 2026 | All, Gender Equality, Male Identity

Webinar—Thursday, October 8, 2026

Background

Session organized by the Global Wo.Men Hub, a Belgian non-profit association whose vision is to move from parity to synergy between women and men. Samuel Chaves Díaz (economist, anthropologist, coach, Gestalt therapist, and member of the Institute of New Masculinities) served as a speaker, accompanied by Ricardo Daroca and Gonzalo G. (Chile, organizational approach). The format was a “candid, non-judgmental, guilt-free” conversation.

Main Ideas

Definition. New masculinity is an alternative way of being a man that differs from traditional models: it is more self-aware, shares responsibility, and is open to care, dialogue, and equality.

Perspective. Samuel emphasizes that the issue is scientific, not ideological, and distinguishes between guilt (a moral emotion) and responsibility. Men were raised with one set of moral values and are now expected to adhere to another, which explains their confusion.

Personal account. When he was 10, he was told that hugging his best friend was “sissy”; he stopped touching other men for years. A “trauma with a lowercase ‘t’” that illustrates how affection is suppressed in children.

Three pillars of change:

Care and shared responsibility — it’s not enough just to “help”; it involves emotional, psychological, and educational support, as well as caring for the elderly.
Emotional openness — managing sadness (repressed because it’s associated with weakness) and anger (directed outward: 93% of the global prison population are men; ~90% of those who go to war).
Giving up privileges — the hardest demand; it’s not about giving up being a man, but about contributing.

Historical and cultural context. Patriarchy has governed most societies (power through fear); history and psychology were born androcentric (biases that AI reproduces today); women leaders have adopted harmful “masculine” practices. Maturana was quoted: human beings are cooperative by nature, and loneliness makes us sick.

The costs for men (not to be compared with those for women, which are “infinitely more severe”): higher rates of suicide and illness, isolation and loneliness, and difficulty coping with grief after a breakup. The “unspoken secret”: behind the “strong man” lies a man who is afraid.

Final Debate

Samuel: He asks women not to lose hope; change must come from men themselves and extend into male-dominated spaces.
Ricardo: Women should stop “playing mother” so that men will stop being “adult adolescents”; we need to move from “I” to “you” and understand care as presence, attention, and listening.
Gonzalo: You can’t speak on behalf of 4 billion men; he proposes measurable actions within organizations (parental and caregiving leave, 30/60/90-day follow-ups, real incentives). Without measurement, symbolic actions are just “a round of applause”—not real change.
Additional quote: the article “Men Who Cry: A Necessary Warning” (Público): Women don’t just need sensitive men; they need men who give up their privileges and join the fight.
Christine’s reflection: men and women move forward “in parallel”; Samuel responds that patriarchy and capitalism have an interest in pitting them against each other.
Samuel’s closing remarks: The business world is where there is the least talk of care and where competitive leadership is most deeply rooted; cooperative teams are more productive in the medium and long term.

Key Findings

Synergy, not confrontation. Change isn’t about men versus women: both were educated in the same system.
No blame, just responsibility. Create safe, non-judgmental spaces to attract more men.
Three levers: shared care (including the mental load), emotional openness (sadness and fear, not just anger), and the effective relinquishment of privileges.
Men must lead the change among men, with the support and patience of women, without women taking on a maternal role.
Moving from words to measurable actions: organizational policies with ongoing metrics and incentives, not symbolic gestures.
The world of work is a priority: promoting cooperative and caring leadership, which is also more effective.
A unique perspective: acknowledging the harm that patriarchy inflicts on men without downplaying the impact on women, for whom the consequences are more severe.

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