[2] Its logo represents the union of women and men working together to achieve gender equality, by joining together aspects of both the female and male symbols.
[4] When launching the movement in September 2014, Global Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson delivered an address at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, mainly focusing on the personal and professional motivation for establishing HeForShe.
[6] HeForShe illustrates the need for male allyship by pointing to studies that show 257 more years will be necessary to close the gender gap,[7] and that 95% of the world's CEOs and heads of states are men.
[11] It was hosted by UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson, whose speech about her call to involve men and boys in promoting gender equality was widely circulated via social media.
Former United States President Barack Obama,[15] actor Matt Damon, singer Harry Styles,[16] and UN Secretary-General António Guterres[17] are among some of the high-profile males featured on the site.
[22] While the HeForShe 2019 Impact Report found that there is still a wage gap between men and women, business, universities, and other entities that participate in the initiative have contributed to a dynamic shift in gender parity in terms of representation in senior leadership positions.
[26] Launched in September 2018, the #MorePowerfulTogether campaign invited landmarks around the world, most notably The Empire State Building in New York City, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and the CN Tower in Toronto, to turn off half their lights to demonstrate the power lost when women are underrepresented from society, economies and communities.
[27] As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as gender inequalities, particularly of women in the home, became increasingly apparent when it comes to housework, cleaning and caring for children, the sick or the elderly, HeForShe launched the #HeForSheAtHome campaign to inspire men to help balance the burden in their households.
[35] The HeForShe Champions also engage by raising awareness on gender equality through their own sports events such as the Danone Nations Cup[36] and the BNP Paribas Tennis Open.
[41] Although HeForShe has actively represented LGBTQ+ issues alongside sister campaign United Nations Free & Equal,[42] some have expressed concerns that the name of the movement leaves behind non-binary, transgender, and genderqueer individuals, and reinforcement of the gender binary.
Watson also asserts that the HeforShe campaign will strengthen the feminist cause by involving both women and men around the globe in advocating for gender equality.