männer.ch (masculinities.ch) is the Swiss umbrella association of progressive men’s and father’s organizations. We incorporate 20 professional and voluntary organizations. 

männer.ch was founded in 2005 and functions as an intermediary, as well as a spokesperson for boys, men and fathers by giving their gender equality concerns a voice and lending their contributions contour. The fundament of our advocacy work is the concept of triple advocacy. If you are interested to learn more about triple advocacy, read here a paper presented at the panel «Contributions of boys, men and fathers to gender equality: Where do we draw the line of a progressive alliance?» at the «International Conference on Masculinities: Engaging Men & Boys for Gender Equality», 7th of march 2015, in New York.

männer.ch pursues its goals in cooperations, for example with alliance F, GeCoBi, Pro Familia Suisse and TravailSuisse. We have a permanent representation within the Federal Commisson for Women’s Issues. On a international level, we entertain close cooperations with european partner organizations, in particular with the Bundesforum Männer (Germany) and the Dachverband Burschen-, Männer- und Väterarbeit DMÖ (Austria). männer.ch is also a member organization of the global network MenEngage. 

männer.ch has two flagship projects: the Swiss Fathers’ Day (Schweizer Vätertag) and The PartTime Man (Der Teilzeitmann). In 2015 we launch the international campaign MenCare as national program in Switzerland. 

The vision and guiding principles behind the mission of männer.ch are described in the new preamble of the articles of association (charter) as follows:

• männer.ch is a national forum, where boys, men and fathers can discover and develop perspectives and raise societal awareness to the necessity of a consummate gender equality within the contexts of society, politics and economics.
• männer.ch is opposed to all forms of discrimination based on gender and committed to enabling the participation of all stakeholders in developments that lead to the achievement of gender equality. männer.ch sees it as its purpose to engage for unequivocal equality and dialog, regardless of gender and hierarchical hurdles.
• männer.ch. takes it upon itself to help shape the perspectives and interpret issues that boys, men and fathers face in their lives. In doing so, männer.ch draws its motivation from the day-to-day realities of men living in Switzerland and collects eclectic knowledge sourced from men’s counselling and research. männer.ch pleads the legitimate causes of men with respect for all involved.
• männer.ch is also committed to reaching appreciation and equivalent acknowledgement for various ways of life and life choices made by boys, men and fathers and considers fostering their resources an essential prerequisite for gender equality. männer.ch encourages and supports men in developing their potentials during their lives, in particular, regarding their often neglected ones – such as caring.
• männer.ch is, in particular, proactive in regard to the concerns arising from the following topics: family, work, health, sexuality, education and aggression/violence.
• männer.ch encourages and supports men to accept their daily commitment as fathers and role models for both boys and girls. männer.ch endeavors to make the necessary structural adjustments reality, and promote the recognition of values that support the above within the societal context.
• männer.ch advocates the egalitarian distribution of work and its remuneration as well as responsibilities between the genders and the achievement of a sustainable load balance across all constellations of work, family, social involvement and personal development.
• männer.ch aspires to uphold models or establish measures that are relevant to individuals and the society. Ones that are beneficial to the physical, psychological health and social adequacy of boys,men and fathers, as well as, positive perceptions of themselves, their own wellbeing and sexual responsibilities.
• männer.ch enlists to support situations enabling equal opportunity in all matters related to education and foster it in its individual and social-systemic pertinence, also as it relates to boys.
• männer.ch opposes all forms of violence among men and boys, as well as, between men/boys and women/girls. männer.ch opposes all forms of coercion, exploitation and (co)dependency, however they may manifest in relationships and families.
• männer.ch also takes it upon itself to reveal the vulnerability behind the norms of masculinities.

Contact: info@maenner.ch