It seems like fashion brands have understood the importance of empowering women. Fashion is the visual manifestation of the zeitgeist. And when the #metoo movement took on Hollywood, it spurred fashion collections from brands high and low celebrating the fierceness of womanhood. When women took to Washington to protest an anti-feminist president, their symbol was the Pussyhat. Fashion Empowermentįashion is often at the forefront of massive cultural movements, political sentiments and societal shifts. It’s this pressure that exposes institutional responsibilities and prompts companies and governments to take the necessary steps for establishing gender equality. Figures like these demonstrate the importance of a feminist movement that persistently takes action for women’s empowerment and pressures the powerful for change.
That’s a 24% increase from the year before. Fashion Revolution’s own research finds that the fashion industry is also making progress: In 2019, 63% of brands analysed in the Fashion Transparency Index disclosed policies on closing the gender pay gap at company level.
During the past two years, women in Saudi Arabia have been allowed to drive legally, abortion has been decriminalised in Chile and Ireland, Taiwan has become the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage and Tanzania’s top court has ruled that marriage under the age of 18 is unconstitutional. Many of these problems are being tackled, sometimes with success. We live in a world that is still far from gender equality, with women experiencing oppression and discrimination on a daily basis. It is encouraging to see what feminism is achieving today: From Hollywood’s #metoo movement to Finland’s all-female coalition government – calls for women’s empowerment and greater gender equality are everywhere. But what if that empowerment is based on exploitation? “We should all be feminists”, “women will change the world” and “girl power”: It’s slogans like these that fashion brands shout down from t-shirts and sweaters.