Jake Stika
Jake is a Co-founder and the Executive Director of Next Gen Men. Having grown up as an immigrant to Canada as well as having lived in Brazil, Germany, and the Czech Republic in recent years, Jake has a global perspective on community development and social innovation. Jake believes himself to be a reconnection entrepreneur and is less interested in symptoms, but rather underlying causes. His vision for Next Gen Men comes from observing society today and wondering how to create change amongst youth and his peers for a better tomorrow, today.
Equity Focused Leadership - Next Gen Men
Equity Focused Leadership is a new initiative of Next Gen Men. Having successfully launched two programmes (a youth programme for boys aged 12-14, and a monthly discussion group for adults) to engage, educate, and empower boys on what it is to "be a man" today, they developed this program to apply the principles learned to workplaces - tackling gender based issues specifically through engaging men.
They hope to smash the glass ceiling from the top down to further advance SDG Goal #5 Gender Equality. Though there are many initiatives to further women in the workplace, there is a lack of engagement with men to further their understanding of gender inequity - invite them as allies in the pursuit of this goal, and better understand how changing this paradigm will benefit their health and wellbeing.