A United Nations backed campaign named HeForShe has recently received an incredible amount of attention in its attempt to stop gender discrimination

Since the early nineteenth century, women have been fighting for their voices in society. At the time, it was a new and controversial movement, which we know now as the first wave of feminism: fighting for women’s suffrage. These goals were altered to goals of social and cultural equality of women from the 1960s to the 1980s, which is now recognized as the second wave. The third wave appeared in the 1990s and 2000s, and its aim was to respond to the movement’s prior failures, according to the Women in Congress. As stated by the American Historical Association, the use of technology spurred a fourth wave of feminism in 2008.

On Sept. 20, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson spoke at the UN Headquarters in New York and introduced the HeForShe campaign to the world, describing its aim and its need in the global community.

“We are struggling for a uniting word, but the good news is we have a uniting movement,  Watson said. “It is called HeForShe. I am inviting you to step forward, to be seen, to speak up, to be the “he” for “she.” And to ask yourself if not me, who? If not now, when?”

Watson’s speech was heard and applauded everywhere around the world, and soon after the campaign took off, #HeForShe trended on all social media sites and celebrities openly showed their support. There are currently 182,770 men who have pledged to take a stand for gender equality alongside women, according to the campaign’s official website.

Although the feminist movement is responsible for remarkable achievements throughout history, recently it has ceased to reform society. Although, with this new take on the problem, progress can continue. After all, gender inequality is a human rights problem where the solution benefits the world socially, politically and economically, thus essentially ensuring progress in all spheres of life.