Joshua B. Hughes Represents Howard University in New York

On Thursday, September 21st, 2023, I had both the honor and the privilege of participating in the UN Women’s HeForShe Summit in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering, as a representative of the Howard University Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership. 

This panel conversation with Christine Emba, Columnist from The Washington Post, Richard Reeves, President of the American Institute for Boys and Men, and Michelle Terry, CEO of Movember, occurred at the esteemed Gotham Hall in Times Square Manhattan. Through this dialogue, I was privileged to connect with several global industry and social advancement leaders. 

During the Summit, there were three different panels centered around the topic of Gender Equality. This specific panel discussion aimed to bring together experts and leaders from various fields to explore dominant narratives that shape today’s socially desirable models of masculinity. The panel discussion demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of how society can work together to disrupt harmful narratives and advance gender equality for everyone. My goal was to inspire solutions by bringing personal perspectives through personal activism and engagement. I shared one quote: “You can go fast alone, but we can go further together.”

The event's theme was #RespectfullyDisruptive, and the goal was to develop healthy solutions that disrupted the status quo of how gender is constructed in the world. For this to be accomplished, we must first come to a mutual understanding of perspectives. As a student leader on my HBCU campus, I am aware of the important perspective I hold as a black male that is needed for a conversation of this magnitude with the highlighted panelists. I was eager to share my perspective on the topic of gender equality and what it looks like for me as a Black Man.

This is where my role came into play. As a young Black male at Howard University who plans to work in education, I understand that my position is disproportionately rare in our community. There continue to be dwindling numbers of Black men in colleges and universities. Because of this, my shared perspective on the panel was extremely valued and well-received by the rest of the audience. I shared the current ratio of male to female students at Howard University and the implications of this on our experience as both students and Black professionals in society. 

This was a transformative experience, and I am so grateful to be a part of a program of this magnitude. This conversation must continue in the future, and I am excited to continue working toward gender equality and inclusion in any capacity I can! 

 

Joshua B. Hughes, Senior Mathematics Major Secondary Education Minor 2024