Journeys of Transformation Dialogue Clubs: A Training Manual for Engaging Men as Allies in Women’s Economic Empowerment

This manual is designed to engage the husbands/partners of women participants in Global Communities’ Women Empowered (WE) program who already take part in that program with their wives/partners, both in Guatemala and across the region. The Journeys of Transformation Dialogue Clubs program1 is intended to complement the existing WE program curriculum in order to engage men as more equitable and supportive partners in improving household well-being and women’s participation in economic activities. This manual is adapted from Equimundo’s Journeys of Transformation manual, first developed with CARE Rwanda and Rwamrec and then with Global Communities, but which also includes additional content based on the priorities that emerged in formative research and adaptations by other programs that promote gender equality and women’s leadership (e.g., Pathfinder’s Act With Her and the Population Council’s Abriendo Oportunidades). 

The manual should be used by men and women facilitators working with the WE program. It includes 13 sessions to enable men and women to reflect on issues of gender and power and on how these influence their relationships, their families, and their well-being. The session content is highly interactive and dynamic. It uses participants’ experiences to generate individual and collective reflection that, in turn, can motivate the adoption of new attitudes and behaviors. It aims to build collective support for making positive, healthy changes in their relationships as a couple, in the family, and in their lives.