Meghan Markle has made a splash with a strong speech about women’s power at the SXSW festival. She flew to Austin, Texas, and was seen on stage before her talk at the South by Southwest Festival.
The Duchess of Sussex is there for the first day’s big talk called Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen. She’s with journalist Katie Couric, actress Brooke Shields, and Nancy Wang Yuen who knows lots about making places fair for everyone.
When Meghan sat down and they said her name, she said she was “so excited” to join in. She talked about a new thing she’s working on.
Just yesterday, we found out that Meghan, Geena Davis, and Moms First are teaming up. They want to show how TV shows mums.
Meghan shared why she cares about this project. She said: “My past experience as an actress, and now today as a producer and mother, have amplified my belief in the critical importance of supporting women and mums both behind the lens and in front of it.”
“This report about the portrayal of mothers in entertainment highlights the gaps we need to fill to achieve true representation in the content we create and consume, and I’m honoured to support this work through the Archewell Foundation.”
Meghan Markle recently delivered a speech at SXSW, with Errin Haines, host of The Amendment podcast, moderating the session. Meghan’s talk focused on “how the ubiquitous nature of social media is creating an often dangerous environment which has led to serious mental health issues for teenage girls in particular,” according to the festival description.
The announcement also touched on how women’s representation in media and entertainment “has come a long way, but there’s still much to be done, especially for women of colour and mothers”. Announcing the Duchess of Sussex as a participant, SXSW noted how she is a “feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity”, as well as a New York Times bestselling author.
Meghan has a long history of supporting women’s rights. On her website, Meghan is described as a “feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity”.
The statement continued: “Her lifelong advocacy for women and girls remains a constant thread in her humanitarian and business ventures. She has been named one of the most influential women in the world in rankings including TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People, The Financial Times’ 25 Most Influential Women, Variety Power of Women, and British Vogue’s Vogue 25.”
When she was just 11 years old, Meghan showed that she had a passion for campaigning for women’s rights. It all started after seeing an advert by Procter and Gamble which said dirty pans and pots were only the job of women.
The advert went like this: “Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans.”
When Meghan saw it, she told Nick News, “I don’t think it’s right for kids to grow up thinking these things, that just mom does everything.”
So, young Meghan wrote to the company asking them to say that it’s “people all over America” who clean dirty pans and pots. To her delight, the company listened and agreed to change their words.
Meghan, who fans know from the TV show Suits, keeps fighting for women’s rights. For example, she once wrote about the hard feelings that come with periods, and she has talked about why it’s important to help girls go to school.
