#HeForMe

When thinking of gender equality most people’s minds go to the wage gap, however, there is so much more to it than that, which is where #HeForShe comes in. As a female myself this is an issue about which I feel strongly.

In Sept 2014 the HeForShe campaign began as a way to broach the conversation of gender inequality between men and women from a new perspective. The idea was that if you could get men to change the way that they see themselves (ie the way toxic masculinity causes them to think of themselves as the dominant and superior sex), that they would begin to fix the real issue, which is that women are seen as less than men, and therefore deserve less money, less power, and less freedoms than men.

The HeForShe Global Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality was founded in the United Nations with Emma Watson being one of the most notable names involved in the cause. Watson, who is best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise was one of the best possible candidates to be a spokesperson for the campaign seeing as she has 28.8 million followers on twitter alone spanning several generations of Harry Potter fans across the globe.

Since the start of Covid the campaign took their hashtag a step further by launching the #HeForSheAtHome sub-movement. This sub-movement aims to bring gender equality into the home and crush the stereotype of chores and cooking being women's work.

#HeForSheAtHome is quite possibly one of the most important aspects of the HeForShe movement, because as the saying goes “change starts at home”. If men at home aren’t willing to put in the same amount of effort as the woman they are with then they are not equal partners. Men committed to the HeForSheAtHome movement try to participate equally with their partner such as taking turns cooking and cleaning rather than leaving it to the women.

This is not only the start of men helping to bring about gender equality, it is also the start of parents teaching their sons that women and men are equal and should do the same work, and teaching their daughters that they deserve more than to be seen as an object or a maid. If they see these examples at home they are more likely to express these views outside the home as well, for example a young boy who has a gender equality ally for a father may emulate the behavior by insisting that a girl be allowed to play with the boys during recess.

Unfortunately statistics among the HeForShe community show that it will take approximately 267.6 years to reach gender equality, and it is our responsibility to speed that up no matter what gender you are.

Photo Courtesy of the HeForShe Instagram