Emma Watson calls for equality in fashion industry

A year after launching her gender equality #HeforShe movement, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson has issued an outspoken plea to end racism and sexism in the fashion industry.

The British actress has brought her campaign together with Vogue magazine in a video entitled “Fashion on Gender Equality: A Conversation with Emma Watson”. In it, she speaks with leading fashion designers, including Stella McCartney, about the need for gender equality in fashion.

“I want to get this conversation, this dialogue happening specifically within the fashion industry, to ask the leading voices about gender equality,” Watson says as she introduces the video. “I have seen some very positive steps toward equality in the industry. But I think there’s a lot of racism, there’s a lot of sexism. I’d really, really love to see a more diverse representation of women and men in any way that makes them feel empowered.”

Watson shot to prominence on the issue of equality with an impassioned speech to the UN in September last year when she launched the #HeForShe campaign. She spoke about the early impact of the campaign at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.

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Author: Mark Jones is Commissioning Editor for the World Economic Forum

Image: Actress Emma Watson accepts the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year at the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni