Actress Anne Hathaway took on a new role on Wednesday – directing two all-male panels to highlight how men can ensure women receive equal pay and end violence against women.
Hathaway said she was unapologetic about leading discussions with men only at the HeForShe Impact Summit.
HeForShe was launched by UN Women at the United Nations four years ago with the help of “Harry Potter” actress Emma Watson in a bid to get men involved in the drive for gender equality.
“Today the men on stage with me are here because they are throwing a huge rock through the glass ceiling,” Hathaway, 35, who was appointed a goodwill ambassador for UN Women two years ago, told a packed hall in New York.
Latest UN Women figures show HeForShe has so far encouraged 1.7 million men to sign up as advocates for gender equality.
UN Women’s Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka listed some of the progress since 2014, including Iceland pledging to end the gender pay gap by 2020 and Malawi outlawing child marriage to help girls stay in school.
Hathaway quizzed her panel members on what they were doing against a backdrop of data showing women globally are paid 23 percent less than men and one in three women…
