Emma Watson speaks on gender inequality in the fashion industry

Emma Watson, actress turned advocate, partnered with British Vogue to release a video about gender inequality in the fashion industry.E

The four-minute video includes Watson talking about gender inequality with leading voices in the fashion industry such as British designers Stella McCartney, Jonathan Saunders, Bella Freud, and Erdem Moralioglu.

The designers were supportive of the idea of gender equality in the fashion industry, touching on issues such as maternity and paternity leave, increasing diversity in the industry, and equal pay.

“I think the fashion industry has a very big role to play,” designer Stella McCartney says. “It has a huge voice and the voice can be adapted. We need to give a better message to women of all ages, all sizes and all nationalities. We need to allow women to feel comfortable in who they are.”

Watson sees positive improvement in the industry, seeing leaders making positive changes to ensure gender equality within the industry. To her, there is “a lot of racism” and “a lot of sexism” in the industry. She wants to see a more diverse representation in the industry to make both genders feel more empowered.

Last September, Watson founded the #HeForShe gender equality movement, encouraging both men and women to support each other in the fight for gender equality. Her initial speech in front of the United Nations in New York went viral, causing both men and women to show their support for the campaign via social media.

The #HeForShe campaign has shown the world the true definition of feminism, not the stereotypical associations we have grown to know. With the campaign’s success, it’s allowed Watson to start focusing on one industry at a time, with the hope to fight gender inequality to create a world where men and women can be treated equally on all levels.