There are several ways to approach this as a parent

Talk openly about the rights of women without playing any blame game. Tell them honestly about the kind of basic discrimination women face, about voting rights, about the fact that most of the world leaders are male. Simple conversations can lead to bigger discussions about harassment and workplace cultures. Older children will do well to have conversations about consent, rape culture, slut shaming, etc. with their parents. It’s crucial, however, never to make moral judgments about ‘men’ in general.

Ban the basic gender stereotyping in your house – blue is not only for boys, pink is not only for girls, boys can play with kitchen sets and girls can have cars and bikes as toys. Phrases like “boys will be boys” and “she’s such a girl” advocate differences between the genders and the different priorities and rights given to them, and subtly put across very dangerous ideas.

Teach boys how to speak about women respectfully, and not to base assumptions about them just based on their clothes, appearance, and looks. Associating morality with these superficialities has implications for how boys perceive the value of women.

Encourage your sons to be open about expressing their emotions. Traditionally, we’ve been praising our boys for their achievements and our girls for their looks and their behaviour, and this needs to change now. We must nurture our sons’ abilities to express, introspect and talk about their feelings. Ask them how they are feeling about things; inquire about their friendships, their general state of mind. They can be strong and sensitive at the same time.

Stop serving them and involve them in day-to-day household chores. It is still common for moms to serve their sons and clean their rooms, while girls are taught to do everything themselves and sometimes even serve their brothers. This sends out a very negative idea that women are born to just serve men. Ensure that sons and daughters have an equal share in chores, cooking and cleaning tasks included.

Get the dads involved in everything. For boys, it is important to see that their fathers are also involved in day to day parenting, because they learn by example. If they see their father involved in domestic chores, they know that it’s the right thing to do.