Women rule social media. They dominate Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, and stand click-to-click with men on Twitter and Tumblr. It's not all pretty pictures. This is truly the breakout year for driving awareness on women and girls’ issues through hashtag activism. Some have a professional women's focus -- #leanin, #changetheratio. Others focus on empowerment -- #girlsrising, #womenshould -- or girls in danger -- #bringourgirlsback and #wearesilent.
In this special feature, we showcase the truly powerful and innovative campaigns that have spread like wildfire and galvanized hundreds of thousands to join, rally and participate. Read and share your favorites and a any other campaigns we should highlight.
See Our Special Feature On Viral Hits: Best Hashtag Activism 2014
PROFESSIONAL
The action-oriented campaigns below have helped shine a spotlight on the unique issues that women face in the workplace.
#LeanIn: It's not just a book. Sheryl Sandberg's bestseller has helped galvanize a movement. LeanIn.org and #LeanIn offer ongoing support and inspiration to help women speak openly about their challenges and achieve their professional goals.
#ChangeTheRatio: Founded by Rachel Sklar in 2010, #changetheratio is an ongoing campaign/movement to increase visibility, access and opportunity for women in all walks of their professional lives. When a power list or major industry event lacks female representation, you can bet that the Change the Ratio hashtag will rear its head on Twitter.
#Ask4More: Launched by LevoLeague, a community of professional women, the #Ask4More campaign is all about giving women the tools, support and information they need to ask for equal pay.
REPRESENTATION
The campaigns below are focused on changing how women are represented in the media.
#NotBuyingIt: The Representation Project created the #NotBuyingIt app and movement to draw attention to advertisements that belittle and objectify women. Unsurprisingly, the hashtag was used thousands of times during this year's Super Bowl.
#SolidarityisforWhiteWomen: Ever since Mikki Kendall tweeted #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen, the hashtag has given women of color a centralized platform to talk about the issues and concerns that so often get excluded from mainstream feminism conversations.
#MediaWeLike: The other side of the #NotBuyingIt coin, #MediaWeLike was created by The Representation Project to call attention to the companies that are doing it right. #MediaWeLike highlights advertisements that accurately represent women.
From promoting education to challenging stereotypes, the following campaigns are all about inspiring and empowering girls.
#girlrising: Girl Rising is a feature-length documentary that shines a light on the importance of girls' education. #GirlRising is the global movement and platform for stories, quotes, and calls-to-action about educating and empowering girls.
#WeAreSilent: Malala Yousafzai inspired the world with her fierce and brave commitment to education. On April 17, the Malala Fund joined forced with Free the Children and dozens of celebrities to launch the #WeAreSilent campaign, a 24-hour silent stand to raise awareness about the millions of girls who have been denied the right to go to school.
#ImAGirl: New York City created the #ImAGirl campaign to tackle the issues of girls' self-esteem and body image. Targeted at young women aged 7-12, the campaign included ads and social posts featuring diverse girls participating in a range of activities like reading, playing sports, and hiking.
#banbossy: Created by Lean In and Girl Scouts, the #BanBossy campaign is all about encouraging young women to lead. Words like "bossy" send the wrong message girls, and #BanBossy is committed to changing that story. With celebrities like Beyonce engaging, the campaign spread like wildfire.
#BringBackOurGirls: After hundreds of Nigerian girls were kidnapped by terrorist group Boko Haram, #BringBackOurGirls became the social media rallying cry for tweeters across the globe. The hashtag continues to draw attention to this devastating crisis.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
These hashtags inspired women to speak out against injustices and advocate for equal rights.
#StandWithWendy: As Texas State Senator Wendy Davis filibustered an anti-abortion bill for 11 hours, #StandWithWendy quickly became a rallying cry for women's reproductive rights. The hashtag was tweeted more than 500,000 times during Davis' speech.
#womenshould: Based on Google auto-fill search results, the UN Women's #WomenShould campaign exposed the prevalence of negative sentiments held against women around the world. The campaign touched on a range of issues impacting women, and sparked a major dialogue about gender equality.
#YesAllWomen: Just this past weekend, #YesAllWomen emerged on Twitter in response to the manifesto written by the man who killed six people in Santa Barbara. His deeply misogynistic manifesto stirred a powerful response from women who used #YesAllWomen to talk about the ways that sexism has impacted their lives.
Whether they are planned in advance or sparked by an event, each one of these hashtag campaigns has proved to be an incredibly powerful force for raising awareness, promoting conversation, and galvanizing action. And while these hashtags make clear that we have a long way to go in terms of achieving gender equality, they also mark the significant progress that women are making on social media and beyond.
