Making a difference on International Women’s Day

If there is one thing you do this International Women’s Day…don’t buy another t-shirt with a fun feminist slogan that you’ll wear 3 times and isn’t benefitting a cause.

Your heart’s in the right place, but for the gender equality movement to move more quickly, we need to do more than make temporary noise. This year, let’s get back to the heart of what sisterhood is all about, and stand up for somebody who doesn’t have their own platform.

Prove them wrong when they say women don’t lift each other up. We are a collective force for good, so let’s grab that opportunity with both hands.

Change starts at home. Ask yourself what your real definition of good leadership is at work – are you promoting the right people, or just the ones that look like you?

Look at your social media feed and challenge yourself to follow more diverse voices, whose accounts represent real women’s stories. Even if you start with some of our favourites, like UN Women UK Advisor Sharmadean Reid, our Changemakers Eni Aluko, Gina Martin and Munroe Bergdorf, and the likes of Amika George and Liv Little, those are good places to start to hear a bigger range of experiences. Why not follow Nimco Ali and see what she has to say about feminism. Get creative; don’t be tempted to only engage with people who share your views. This is the real Generation Equality, and there’s a whole world out there.

Being an intersectional feminist isn’t just words – it takes work. We have immense power to make change happen, and we can all be activists.

If each of us speaks up for one other person, and each of them speaks up for one other person, that’s a movement. And it’s unstoppable.

Follow Claire and her team at @UNWomenUK to get involved in Generation Equality

How are you making a difference on International Women’s Day?