Power, Partnership, and Parenthood: A Gender Lens on Male Involvement in Maternal and Child Health

Dear Colleagues,

Male involvement in maternal and child health (MCH) is increasingly recognized as a promising strategy to enhance health outcomes and promote equitable caregiving. However, the discourse around male engagement often lacks a critical examination of its relationship to gender equity and the broader social structures that shape caregiving norms. This Special Issue aims to address this gap by advancing a gender-transformative perspective that interrogates power relations, patriarchal norms, and institutional barriers underpinning current MCH practices.

While emerging evidence suggests that male engagement can yield positive outcomes for women, children, and families, interventions that are poorly conceptualized risk reinforcing traditional gender hierarchies and curtailing women’s autonomy. This Special Issue invites rigorous interdisciplinary research that explores how masculinities, gender norms, and institutional systems structure male roles in MCH, and how these can be reimagined through intentionally equity-driven strategies.

We particularly encourage contributions that move beyond instrumentalist approaches to male involvement and instead center transformative engagement—where men are positioned not as saviors or gatekeepers, but as co-constructors of gender-equitable health systems. We seek empirical and conceptual work from diverse global contexts that theorizes male involvement not as an end in itself, but as a means toward achieving gender justice in reproductive health, caregiving, and social policy.

Dr. Robsan Tura
Guest Editor

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