Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department took to mark International Men's Day on 19 November 2020.

Every year, International Men’s Day offers an opportunity to highlight how outcomes for men and boys can be improved and the important work going on every day to address this. This year’s theme was “Better health for men and boys”. Defra group marked this day with a blog by our Deputy Gender champion, Mark Thompson. Mark highlighted the inclusion agenda for men, in particular mental health issues and how our networks help and support employees. In addition, our newly formed Gender Board has raised the need to engage men better in gender equality conversations.

Linked to this year’s theme, details of the ASK TWICE campaign were shared with employees. The campaign is specifically aimed at men, and is part of the national Time To Change initiative led by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness which aims to change the way we think about, and take action on, mental health problems.

In addition to supporting International Men’s Day this November, across Defra group we support many UK gender-based initiatives, including Movember. One example is a panel discussion on International Men’s Day itself, hosted by our Women’s Network and the Defra Movember campaign. During this session various Equality, Diversity and Inclusion network leads discussed a range of subjects related to male stereotypes: e.g. men’s health, mental health, fatherhood and how to support men in the workplace. These sessions reflected the fact that these issues affect everyone: colleagues, friends, husbands, wives, partners, families and organisations. Another example this November has been the Defra Cancer Network partnering with our Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Network to run two online events highlighting how different aspects of cancer may affect individuals across gender lines. These events were supplemented by the sharing of personal stories of prostate cancer across the group via blogs, with the objective of tackling stigma around men’s health issues. This content featured links to useful information with messages encouraging employees “if in doubt, get it checked”.

To complement these network-led sessions, groups have been set up on our internal Yammer pages. Examples include #Team EA Movember which provides an opportunity for employees to fundraise and the Movember page for anyone wanting to join the conversation, or to become a Movember Workplace Ambassador. We have also started an anonymous WhatsApp group, providing a safe place for men to talk with others who are currently suffering or have previously suffered from cancer or mental health problems.

Finally, we use other opportunities throughout the year to raise and address issues of concern to men. For instance, Defra group marked Carers’ Rights Day on 26 November in support of men with caring responsibilities. Through our HR policies and standard work practices, Defra group continues to ensure all men have access to flexible working and shared parental leave, giving them the opportunity for work-life balance and the ability to take time away from the workplace to fulfil their caring responsibilities.

Defra organisations recognise that talking is important. We appreciate that for many people it is easier to simply say “I’m OK” than to admit they have problems. In recognition of our differences, Defra group is committed to finding ways that enable anyone and everyone to reach out for help, regardless of their gender identity - whether cis, trans, fluid or non-binary.