Working On Harry Potter Pushed Emma Watson To Advocate For Gender Equality

Since her Harry Potter days, Emma Watson has become an activist for gender equality and feminism. How did she make the transition from wizard to women's empowerment advocate? In her mind, those two roles were related. The actress and United Nations ambassador said in Interview magazine that filming the Harry Potter movies led her to notice gender inequality. The article featured a conversation between Watson and fellow feminist actress Geena Davis. In it, Watson told Davis, "When I did Harry Potter, the ratio was more often than not, at the very least, one-third female, two-thirds male.” She then read research from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and learned that Hollywood had a huge gender problem. And once you notice sexism in the entertainment industry, "You start seeing it everywhere,” she said. “It’s so much bigger.” Watson is currently on a haitus from acting to devote herself to her role with the U.N. and her feminist book club. Now, we know where that all got started.