Understanding UN Women HeForShe Solidarity Movement For Gender Equality and IMPACT 10X10X10

What is HeForShe?

Created by UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, the HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality provides a systematic approach and targeted platform on which men and boys can engage and become change agents towards the achievement of gender equality. Achieving gender equality in our lifetimes requires an innovative, inclusive approach that both recognizes men and boys as partners for women’s rights, and acknowledges the ways in which they also benefit from this equality. HeForShe invites men and boys to build on the work of the women’s movement as equal partners, crafting and implementing a shared vision of gender equality that will benefit of all of humanity.
Since its launch on 20 September, 2014, at the United Nations, by the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador a British Actress, Emma Watson, hundreds of thousands of men from around the world including Heads of State, CEOs, and global luminaries from all walks of life have committed to gender equality. HeForShe has been the subject of more than 2 billion conversations on social media, with off-line activities reaching every corner of the globe. As of February 2017, 1,272,294 people had already made commitments through the campaign’s website.

What is IMPACT 10x10x10?

Getting to a world where women and men are equal is not just a matter of bringing men to the cause. The goals of HeForShe are much bigger: systematic, structural change that will equalize the economic, social and political realities for women and men. IMPACT 10x10x10 is a three-to-five year pilot effort to advance and ultimately achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment through top-down change, engaging global leaders across three sectors: government, the private sector, and academia. These thirty leaders are at the forefront of gender equality, serving as public champions for change, and committing to concrete progress within their own institutions. By demonstrating progress in a select group of companies, countries, and universities committed to equality, the program aims to identify and scale successful approaches to institutions across the world, accelerating the pace of change to make equality a reality within our lifetime.

Who are the IMPACT Champions?

IMPACT champions are dedicated supporters of gender equality, who are willing to make bold, unparalleled commitments to change. The group of IMPACT Champions are balanced across regions, industries, and sectors, representing a truly global set of leaders.

What are IMPACT Commitments?

IMPACT 10x10x10 aims to catalyze change, with bold, tangible commitments that set the standard for equality in each sector. To ensure consistent progress and establish a common ground, leaders in each sector made common commitments. All University IMPACT champions commit to implement a gender sensitization curriculum for students, faculty and staff, and develop programs to address gender-based violence. Corporate champions sign the Women’s Empowerment Principles, committing to implement Principle 7: “Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality.” Heads of State commit to personally champion and launch a HeForShe campaign in their own country.
In addition, each leader developed bold commitments which aim to deliver real change within and beyond their own institutions. To ensure effective implementation, provide transparency, and share best practices with other leaders, the IMPACT champions will annually publish a report.

How to get involved?

The IMPACT 10x10x10 is limited to ten leaders in each sector during this pilot phase. HeForShe works with companies, universities and Heads of State through a range of other efforts. More information on the campaign and how to take part in it are available on the website www.heforshe.org.

Head of State IMPACT Champions

Despite notable progress over the last fifty years, not a single country has yet achieved gender equality. Heads of States are well positioned to drive transformation within their countries and lead by example, amplifying their own efforts by inviting others to champion equality. Head of State IMPACT Champions include the Prime Ministers or Presidents of: Finland, Iceland, Republic Of Indonesia, Japan, Republic Of Malawi, Romania, Rwanda and Sweden.

CORPORATE IMPACT CHAMPIONS

ccorhotels, Barclays, Koç Holding, Mckinsey & Company, Schneider Electric, Tupperware Brands, Twitter, Pricewaterhousecoopers, Unilever and Vodafone Group.

UNIVERSITY IMPACT CHAMPIONS

Today, over half the world’s population is under the age of 30, a figure that is projected to rise to 75% by 2025. By reaching young people now, HeForShe can shape still-developing perspectives on gender, impacting a whole generation. Universities are uniquely positioned to influence and galvanize this group by addressing campus violence and changing mindsets around gender. University IMPACT champions include the Presidents or Vice Chancellors of: Georgetown University, University Of Hong Kong, University Of Leicester, Nagoya University, University Of Oxford, University Of São Paulo, Sciences Po, Stony Brook University, University Of Waterloo and University Of The Witwatersrand.