President Obama knows gender equality is better than it’s ever been, but we still have a long road ahead of us. “The progress we’ve made in the past 100 years, 50 years, and, yes, even the past eight years has made life significantly better for my daughters than it was for my grandmothers,” he wrote in an essay for Glamour. “And I say that not just as President but also as a feminist.”
That’s just the beginning. Obama gave example after example of the places we’re falling short of reaching true gender equality: “We need to keep changing the attitude that values being confident, competitive, and ambitious in the workplace—unless you’re a woman. Then you’re being too bossy, and suddenly the very qualities you thought were necessary for success end up holding you back.”
So Beyoncé and Obama are on the same page.
Obama ended with a call to action, specifically targeted at men: “It is absolutely men’s responsibility to fight sexism too. And as spouses and partners and boyfriends, we need to work hard and be deliberate about creating truly equal relationships.”
If these quotes had you fist pumping from excitement, check out the full essay by clicking below.
