Perhaps the most distinctive element of the Bahá'í approach to the issue of equality is the conviction that change must be a unifying force, leading towards full partnership of men and women - and beyond this toward the unity of the human family. Bahá'í activities focusing on the advancement of women take their direction from passages such as the following: "The world of humanity has two wings - one is women and the other men. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly." Bahá'ís see the need to involve men in recognizing and promoting the issue of equality. What benefits will accrue either to men or to women if only women see the need for equality in their lives? How can the sexes advance in harmony and unity unless both become aware of this essential principle? For example, in many development projects focusing solely on women the results are not enduring for a number of reasons: women, by themselves, cannot effectively make cultural changes; the attitudes of women (and men) have not been fundamentally altered even where the projects themselves have been successful; women's concerns and women's projects are seen to be unimportant to the society as a whole; or projects have tended to put women in the roles of "consumers" rather than training them to continue effecting change in their communities once the project ends. Often, gender-focused activities for women only have resulted in conflict between men and women and have therefore been seen as detrimental to community life rather than beneficial, since they may polarize the sexes rather than improve relationships between them. Conscious of this, the Bahá'í community has increasingly sought to involve both women and men in discussion and activities pertaining to the equality issue. Obviously the process of change is one that spans years and perhaps generations before effects are readily noticeable, but the Bahá'í community knows it is essential to lay the foundation now for future progress.

If the first distinctive element of the Bahá'í approach to the advancement of women is the insistence that the process be a unifying force, it is no surprise that the second is its emphasis on equilibrium and harmony, as evidenced by this recorded utterance of `Abdu'l-Bahá:

The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has dominated over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities both of body and mind. But the balance is already shifting; force is losing its dominance, and mental alertness, intuition, and the spiritual qualities of love and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendancy. Hence the new age will be an age less masculine and more permeated with the feminine ideals, or, to speak more exactly, will be an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly balanced.

The vision of a future society in which women and men enter into a full and equal partnership is, then, set unequivocally before the Bahá'í community. While employing the means to achieve the goal demands perseverance, audacity, imagination, and development of consultative skills, the ultimate objective remains clear, "to bring together women and men to challenge, create and transform global structures and processes at all levels through the empowerment and celebration of women."