#HeForShe has taken over the world...
Since Emma Watson’s #HeForShe campaign took off, the way the world views gender has changed. Millions of people have pledged to put an end to gender inequality, whether fathers, brothers, husbands – or women themselves, standing up for their roles as women in the home, workplace and in the world.
This weekend, Emma launched the next initiative in the #HeForShe campaign: Impact 10x10x10.
At this year's UN World Economic Forum at Davos, Emma interviewed 10 male CEOs who have committed to gender equality in their organisations to see how they are doing so - and noted that 'full female participation in the workforce' would be the 'single biggest stimulus to the economy' and 'could boost GDP by $28 trillion within a decade'.
Emma said that the new initiative would aim to engage governments, businesses and universities in making ‘concrete commitments to gender equality’.
The series of inspiring interviews were broadcast, and you can watch them here:
The actress and UN ambassador said at last year's conference that she was overwhelmed by the response to her campaign, and spoke of some of her personal favourite moments.
‘Since the #HeForShe launch in New York last September, I think it would be fair to say that my colleagues and I have been stunned by the response,’ she said at the press conference.
‘The #HeForShe conference was watched over 11 million times sparking 1.2 billion social media conversations culminating in the #HeForShe hashtag becoming so popular that Twitter painted it on the walls of its headquarters.
‘Men from almost every country in the world signed up to our commitment. Everyone, from Desmond Tutu to Prince Harry to Hillary Clinton to Yoko Ono, has given their support or contacted us.’
But, Emma stressed, #HeForShe is not just about famous and well-known names.
‘I want to hear from the human beings that are behind these organisations,’ she said.
‘Girls, who have been your mentors? Parents, did you make sure you treated your children equally - if so, how have you done it? Husbands, have you been supporting your female partners privately so that she can fulfil her dreams too? Young men, have you spoken up in a conversation when a woman was casually degraded or dismissed? How did this affect you? How did this affect the woman you stepped up for?
‘Businessmen, have you mentored and supported women in leadership positions? Writers, have you challenged the language and imagery used to portray women in the media? CEOs, have you implemented the women's empowerment principles in your companies? What change have you seen? Are you someone that has been persuaded men to become #HeForShes and collected their signatures for our website? How many have you got? We want to know, we want to hear from you.
‘What your #HeForShe commitment will be is personal, and there is no best way,’ she said. ‘Everything is valid. Decide what your commitment is, make it public and then please report back to us on your progress so we can share your story.’
Watch Emma’s passionate speech in the video below…
‘If you’re a #HeForShe, and I’m assuming that you are, because otherwise you’d be in somebody else’s press conference right now,’ Emma joked. ‘I’m asking you: what is the impact you can have? How? What? Where? When? And with who? We want to help, we want to know and we want to hear from you.’
What do you think of the new initiative? Let us know @marieclaireuk
