You may be all for feminism but it can be tricky at times to know if you’re really making a difference in the strive towards gender equality – not all of us can be UN Women goodwill ambassadors and travel the world giving amazing speeches at conferences!
But that doesn’t mean you can’t make practical steps in your daily life to push the feminism movement forward, here are a few that you can do to make a difference in the world:
- Sign up to the Women’s Equality Party – the new political party that campaigns for gender equality on all parts, such as equal pay, ending violence against women, equal media treatment and equal education. Membership starts at £4 and there are national campaigns that you can be part of such as the #NoSizeFitsAll campaign which had the likes of model Rosie Nelson and plus sized model Jade Sezer on board.
- Use social media as your megaphone – Whether it’s a video that goes viral or a status of an opinion on Facebook that ends up on news outlets everywhere, it’s no surprise that these days social media has the ability to make waves when it comes to social issues. This is exactly why using your voice on the internet to speak up about gender equality issues via blogging, social media and sharing content from sites such as UN Women and Hearst Empowering Women is so important to raise awareness. Something as simple as sharing your opinion on social media of a feminism issue that you’re against can change perceptions which leads to change. Each of us have the opportunity to speak out on issues that need addressing when it comes to women and when we all come together that has the potential to make waves.
- Be active on your campus – Making a difference starts with making a change in your community. Many university campuses have a women’s committee or women’s officer that run events to empower women. Actively taking part in events gives you the opportunity to make a difference in the university community and actively raise awareness of issues that affect women. If you’re not in university, have a look in your community if they’re any women committees or charities you can join.
- Educate yourself – The only way to really make a change is to know what you’re talking about. Educating yourself on how gender inequality affects women’s lives and how patriarchy affects women on a daily basis is vital so you can tell others and raise the importance of feminism than it being deemed as a ‘trend. Sites such as Women in The World and Women and Girls Hub publish daily news of issues and gender inequality that affect females across the world.
- Join Malala’s fight for female education – Malala Yousafzai, best known for her women’s rights activism and being the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner at 17 has her own charity to champion girls across the globe to have an education by advocating to change policies and investing in educational programmes . You can donate to Malala Fund and support her #YesAllGirls campaign by signing up here
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