Beyond The Divide: Experience the power of learning from each other

The world expects people to present themselves as masculine or feminine. We delve into how those expectation shape our understanding of the world and learn from each other’s experiences – and how to move beyond those limiting binary expectations.

At home, in school, at work, and in the community – everything works better when people work well together. Even in all male and all female environments, gender plays a major role in every interaction. This is an invitation to begin new and powerful interactions with the opposite gender that results in the social and civic change we are all striving for.

This package can also be combined with all of our our other packages for multi-day corporate retreats.

About the Facilitators

Mike & Christina

This package is presented by Christina Lopez and Mike Marvin who have developed strength-based materials for corporate managers, college campuses, youth groups, rape crisis volunteers, and survivors of sexual assault and their families. Their work has been featured on The Good Men Project and they have presented this keynote address on various college campuses including Stanford University.

With 30 years of combined experience in the IT field, their shared interest in navigating gender bias and stereotypes for both men and women helped them find solutions to gender inequities in a wide variety of settings. Both are Certified Master Facilitators of The Virtues Project.™

Reviews

Beyond the Divide is a fresh, original, deeply honest look at the barriers to genuine gender equality. It offers clear, accessible wisdom, and illuminating steps we can all take to heal and nurture our relationships within our families, workplaces, and educational systems. Simply brilliant!
Linda Kavelin PopovBest selling author and Co founder of The Virtues Project
This is painful because if I had known this before, I would still be married.
Audience Feedbackfrom a Social Services Professional
I kept trying to find something I could argue with but I couldn’t. Not at all what I expected. Well done.
Post Presentation SurveyProfessor, Women in Political Science
I took away from the presentation a good sense of what it means for genders to be equal rather than just women side with women and men side with men. I wish there were more people in attendance, I feel as if every college student should see this presentation.
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Student
I think that this was a successful speech because they were able to relate it to everyday life and they made it interesting and did not just give facts and statistics that don’t have an impact on most people’s lives. I am now more educated about the oppression faced by not only women but also the men within society and how this oppression of people will not end until we, as individuals, stop the prejudice of other people.
Post Presentation SurveyFemale College Student
Upon arriving to the presentation, I had my expectations of what it would be like. I assumed that it was going to be geared towards oppression of women in the work place, home, and in general. After about ten minutes into the show, I realized that I was very wrong…
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Student
The presentation was extremely interesting and very eye opening to me… This shocked me so much and it took me a while to wrap my head around. I never thought of men’s feelings like that and that if a man wanted to show how they actually felt, they would be ridiculed for it. That’s awful, when I start to think more and more about it.
Post Presentation SurveyFemale College Student
It was an interesting presentation in that it was not a typical way of discussing equal rights between genders; instead the presenters discussed equal rights for men and women rather than just discussing how some men oppress women. It was an interesting spin on the topic. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and it opened my eyes to the struggles both men and women face in efforts to find their own identities.
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Student
This was an extremely eye opening presentation for me to go to and I though it brought up a bunch of well thought out ideas. I highly recommend this presentation comes back to St. Bonas and I think more students should be forced to go to this.
Post Presentation SurveyFemale College Student
Christina and Mike made it evident that equality should not be the flip of inequality. Equality should not be reversing the roles between the sexes… By seeing how men feel and why they do or do not show certain feelings helped me understand different aspects about men. The main thing I got out of this talk is that not all men are bad and that women should not assume that they are bad.
Post Presentation SurveyFemale College Student
The day before, I had gotten into a very big fight with my father about how I did not think he cared about me. Once I saw this presentation, it just all made sense. Ever since I spoke to my dad about how I felt, he has made a huge effort and has called me practically 3 times a day. I wish I would have been more aware of the differences between men and women earlier in my life.
Post Presentation SurveyFemale College Student
The presentation helped me to understand that problems with sexism are not just male vs. female. The male population of today is expected to act certain ways that society tells us to, and if we do not abide, we are ostracized. The same situation goes with females as well.
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Student
Christina and Mike have been collaborators for quite some time. They work well together and their distinct perspectives bring balance and insight to their book. Beyond The Divide comes to us from passion, the pursuit of understanding, and years of real life experience in corporate, educational and spiritual settings.
Lee MarvinMusician
Very interesting. It brought up some ideas and provoked me to think about sexism in a different way. I was expecting the cookie-cutter feministic view of sexism, but I was pleasantly surprised with what actually was presented…
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Student
Beyond the Divide accurately depicts some of the issues that are rooted in the socialization of men and women. The recommendations for change are well thought out and are attainable. As a licensed healthcare professional, I find this book to be an excellent teaching tool.
Karen McClainLicensed Healthcare Professional
Before arriving to the presentation, I had thought of only attending it for the extra credit but after sitting through the presentation I found myself very interested in the topic. I assumed that it was going to be shifted more towards the oppression of women in the work place and in general. After a while, I realized that I was completely wrong.
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Student
Since the presentation, I have paid more attention to the men around me and whether or not they were thoughtful. Fortunately, many of them have been; which makes me feel a little safer in my environment. In return, I have made a conscious effort to be more thoughtful to those around me as well.
Post Presentation SurveyFemale College Student
Today’s workplaces and classrooms are a powder keg and our preconceived notions of gender are the match. In ‘Beyond the Divide’, Marvin and Lopez defuse the situation by giving us a safe zone to explore what life looks like through the eyes of the opposite sex. A must read for anyone who has ever griped that there’s no ‘instruction manual’ for the opposite sex.
Dan MarvinSr. VP of Operations at Ironrock
It was a very interesting presentation because it was not a typical way of discussing equal rights between genders, instead it discussed equal rights for men and women rather than just women.
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Student
I've been married for 40 years and now understand the things I have "tolerated" are valuable for me to learn. Who knew?
Feedback after reading our bookFemale Activist
I really liked the presentation and it was eye opening to see the struggles both men and women face in efforts to find their own identities.
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Professor
I think this was very productive for the group to discuss because I have always felt that men are never really able to show their true selves. We have been programmed by our surroundings and upbringing to know that there are certain things, even if we feel them, that we cannot discuss or keep to ourselves.
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Student
A refreshing approach and a call to higher standards… This was an insightful approach and focus on strengths with easy solutions and practices that build instead of blame. Examples clearly illustrate fresh concepts. This is a must read for anyone who wants a positive, proactive, powerful environment conducive to collaboration, understanding, and the ideal combination for productivity!
Cari Matejka5th Grade Teacher
This book is really one of the only places I’ve seen the subject approached in a way that makes sense to me, and actually seems serviceable in the real world. Of course, that’s not surprising, as Mike and Christina have spent years talking to real people, holding seminars, and getting feedback to refine their approach. As with any project in the technical realm, iteration and continuous improvement is the key to success.
Forrest MarvinWeb Solutions Engineering Manager, Google
I enjoyed their speech and encourage others to go to it. I understand more now that both genders need to remain positive and that both can learn from one another and grow together. =
Post Presentation SurveyFemale College Student
This idea of hiding our less macho emotions has hindered the development of the relationship between men and women. If we have to hide how we really feel and act in ways that aren’t our true selves then women are not going to be able to relate to us and will never have a completely positive view of men in general.
Post Presentation SurveyMale College Student
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