3 Global Movements to promote Gender Equality that are worth knowing (and following!)
In the past couple of decades, we began to see the rise of many local movements to help promote gender equality. Inspired by a larger goal of becoming a fairer society and the ever-growing presence of women in our economy and politics, these movements were created and supported by local activists and non-profits. Their goals are usually geographically targeted, as their work focuses on improving the lives of girls and women in communities in need.
Today, these organizations have multiplied and together, they provide enormous support to millions of women throughout the world. These organizations are led by people who believe in the cause, by people who dedicate their lives to make an impact in our society. The scope might be different for each one of them: ending gender violence, lifting women out of poverty, bringing education to girls who wouldn’t have access to it, or empowering girls to feel confident in pursuing whichever career they want.
While these organizations do an amazing job helping local communities, they also helped the rise of another type of gender equality movements: global organizations, supported by entities such as the UN, and powerful multinationals such as Nike and world-known celebrities. These movements help raise awareness for the cause by leveraging their global presence and high awareness.
They are a reflection that when small, local organizations raise awareness over an issue and consistently fight for a cause, it can gain relevance enough to be seen as part of a global agenda.
Here are 3 major global organizations aimed at ending gender inequality through education, economic support or technology.
- He for She
The movement, created in September 2014, is part of the UN Women organization and it presents a new way to take action on the gender issue, as it invites boys and men to be advocates of the cause.
The idea behind the movement is that gender equality is not only a woman’s issue. It is a human rights issue and, therefore, it affects – and should be solved by – women and men. The movement is not only supported by highly influential men around the world (from President Obama to UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon) but it has also developed a toolkit to help local activists start a He for She program in their local communities. Besides counting on men to support the cause, the movement also has actress Emma Watson, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, as a main spokeswoman.
- Global Goals
Launched in the last week of September 2015 at the UN’s General Assembly, the movement is an inter-government agreement, signed by 193 countries, which established international development targets to be met by 2030. The main objective is ambitious: to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and fight climate change. In order to do it, 17 goals have been established, one of them being to achieve Gender Equality.
The movement touches many aspects of equality and human rights, from ending discrimination against women, to enhancing the use of technology (as an empowering tool), to stopping forced marriage and gender mutilation.
World leaders have signed the commitment to the cause and world-known celebrities, from Jennifer Lopez to Bono, are spreading the word about the movement.
The relevance of the movement lies precisely on the broadness of its scope as well as on the power of the commitment behind it.
- The Girl Effect
250 million girls living in poverty by 2030 and it is doing so by focusing on five different aspects of a girls’ life: education, health, economic security, safety, voice and rights.
What makes the project so relevant is the power behind an organization such as Nike. The company has embraced the project and has sought out for global partners to make it even more impactful. This allows them not only to reach an enormous target, but also to have a broader scope.
The movement’s website also offers materials for people who want to spread “The Girl Effect” in their local community.
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