There are many ways to define feminism. However, to narrow down a definition, the International Women's Development Agency defines feminism as "all genders having equal rights and opportunities. It’s about respecting diverse women’s experiences, identities, knowledge, and strengths, and striving to empower all women to realise their full rights. It’s about leveling the playing field between genders, and ensuring that diverse women and girls have the same opportunities in life available to boys and men."   

Feminism impacts everyone, but most of all, it impacts the rights of women and girls. The core of feminism is about all genders having equal rights, opportunities, and treatment. It's also not about hating men or thinking that women are better than men.

In today's society, women and girls are not equal to men and boys. There are many examples of this. To start, 129 million girls don't have access to an education. 690 million people are food insecure, about 60% of them are women and girls. Women-owned businesses get less than 1% of global procurement spending. In 2023, the UN reported that for every dollar a man makes, a woman makes 51 cents. In the home, women do 3 times as many hours of domestic work as a man do (that stat is pre-pandemic; it is believed to have increased since then). Women also have worse health outcomes, especially with maternal and menstrual health. Pregnancy and childbirth cause over 800 preventable deaths a day. With the right level of attention, all of these problems are fixable. Empowering women and achieving gender equality has a huge benefit on society. Urgent progress is still needed to advance gender equality, but it’s important to recognize that addressing the barriers women and girls face is essential for creating a more inclusive and prosperous world for everyone.