HeforShe

United Nations officials and Columbia faculty members discussed the progress made by women in traditionally male-dominated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, along with the pipeline challenges that still remain, at an event in Low Library on Wednesday morning.

King’s Crown Shakespeare Troupe and HeForShe performed a stark, minimalist rendition of “Electra,” Anne Carson’s translation of the original Greek tragedy written by Sophocles, on Wednesday.

“Keep your ears open and don’t let your eyes deceive you.”

Last week, Emma Watson gave a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in which she tackled gender inequality and launched the HeForShe campaign. Overnight the media plunged into a mad frenzy over the speech, praising and proclaiming it a radical game changer for the feminist movement. Admittedly, Watson's speech included noteworthy points that questioned the small role men have played in resolving gender inequality, despite the fact that men are also restricted by gender stereotypes. Watson claims to have seen men who are "made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success." She says it has felt as though her own father's "role as a parent" was less valued by society than her mother's.

Last week, Emma Watson introduced her new HeForShe initiative, which seeks to recruit men as active participants in and advocates for feminism. The point of the campaign is that in order for women to realize the goals of feminism, men must be brought to the table as active participants in the movement.