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10 Important Things to Know About the UN’s HeForShe Campaign

10 Important Things to Know About the UN’s HeForShe Campaign

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Emma Watson recently gave an impassioned speech, in her role as a United Nations Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, that introduced the UN’s new “He for She” initiative. The speech gained international attention as the “Harry Potter” star invited men to help fight for gender equality, but fewer people know the details of the actual campaign than Watson’s moment in the spotlight. Here are ten important facets of the UN “He for She” campaign.

Source: NYTimes.com, Politico.com, HeForShe.org, UNWomen.org, UN.org, FastCompany.com, DNAIndia.com

SPhotos-C-A.Akamaihd.net
SPhotos-C-A.Akamaihd.net

HeForShe is a solidarity movement for gender equality

As Watson outlines in her speech, the initiative is a “formal invitation” to men to participate in the cause for gender equality. It is meant to break down stereotypes that this is a women’s issue, and instead reinforce the idea that it is a human rights issue.

HarpersBazaar.co.uk
HarpersBazaar.co.uk

The campaign encourages the world’s youth to get involved

At the moment, approximately half of the world’s population is under the age of 25. Youth are integral in the fight for equality, and the HeForShe campaign hopes to involve them in making gender inequality a thing of the past by representing women’s equality as a fundamental human right.

Photos-H.AK.net
Photos-H.AK.net

The campaign has involved many high-profile men, urging other men to get involved

Political figures such as Desmond Tutu and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, along with famous actors such as Patrick Stewart, Antonio Banderas, and Matt Damon have joined forces to create a video urging men across the world to get involved in the campaign. The move to use male figures was deliberate, as the campaign is centered around including men in the fight for gender equality.

LinkedIn.com
LinkedIn.com

HeForShe is meant to “stop preaching to the choir”

Given that women have been fighting for their own equality for generations, HeForShe recognizes that women’s rights organizations often preach to the choir. Involving men in the cause is meant to broaden the base of support for gender equality and reach out to as many constituencies as possible to begin to move the needle.

NinjaMarketing.it
NinjaMarketing.it

The campaign was launched ahead of the annual International Women’s Day

After the campaign launch, a huge outreach program began on International Women’s Day to raise awareness of the initiative and begin to sign up those that were interested in lending their support.

Flickr.com UNWomen
Flickr.com
UNWomen

HeForShe was created by the Publicis Dallas agency on a pro bono basis

Brad Roseberry, chief creative officer at Publicis Dallas, spoke about the campaign, “It’s a deceptively simple premise, a women’s rights campaign without a single woman…The subject is well-trod ground. We wanted to do something different.” He also mentioned that an initial first outreach push will be to encourage supporters to change their Facebook profile pictures to the HeForShe logo.

Source: NYTimes.com

Flickr.com UNWomen
Flickr.com
UNWomen

HeForShe upholds the notion that women’s equality benefits men as well

HeForShe attempts to break down traditional gender stereotypes, and fights against societal pressures that have negative effects on men. For instance, suicide is four times higher among men than women, and many suicide-prevention organizations attribute this to the depression that can set in among men in light of the way society expects them to behave.

Telegraph.co.uk
Telegraph.co.uk

The initiative encourages more women to take active leadership roles in the workplace

In light of the statistic that women hold only 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions, HeForShe focuses on gender equality in the workplace, among other prominent issues. It encourages senior leaders in companies to sponsor women, as well as men, to help them move up in their companies and careers, taking an active interest and role.

Newsweek.com
Newsweek.com

The United States have also launched the “It’s On Us” campaign that strives for similar goals as HeForShe

The Its On Us campaign urges men to get involved in fighting against violence and crimes against women, specifically surrounding sexual assault. Domestic violence is an increasingly growing problem, and the initiative attempts the same philosophy as HeForShe in involving men in the conversation.

Flickr.com UNWomen
Flickr.com
UNWomen

The initiative centers around the idea that progress for women is progress for all

As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated, “Throughout the world, discrimination against women and girls is rampant, and in some cases getting worse. But we also know equality for women is progress for all. Where men and women have equal rights, societies prosper.”

Source: UN.org