2017 Will Be The Year of The Empowered Woman!

The ladies are taking over! A number of women so far this year have already been inspired to find the confidence, the courage, and the voice needed to make others aware of the issues plaguing nations today, like hunger, political turmoil, poverty, mental health, and women's continued struggle for equality. But the world needs more help! We need more brave women to come forward and follow the examples of some female celebrities using their fame for a good cause.  

You may stand to recognize some of the fine women who’ve chosen to so far, including Emma Watson, Anne Hathaway, and Angelina Jolie, who’ve not only taken advantage of their empowerment in the film roles they choose, expressing themselves through their various media outlets, but by also using their status as a celebrity to speak to members of the U.N, and other important organizations. Specifically they have addressed the issues of paid maternity leave for working mothers, the wage gaps between men and women in the workplace, and poverty and hunger plaguing various nations around the globe, in particular third world countries where many of them have actually visited and seen firsthand. They want to make people like us recognize how fortunate they are to have the tiniest bit of food on the table and how it’s seemingly easier to obtain food whereas others have to trek miles to carry water on their backs or to obtain any food at all. Many go days without eating. We're privileged to not have to know that struggle, and it's important to band together for our fellow humans! Check out these amazing, inspirational ladies using their voices for the greater good!

There are also other women, such as Alessia Cara, Selena Gomez, and Miley Cyrus, who’ve expressed their empowerment through music, through emotional speeches at awards shows where they have a platform to speak from the heart, and/or through having organized protests trying to make people aware of what’s happening in the world.

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Many of these ladies have started their own organizations that directly address the causes that they care about most, such as Emma Watson's HeForShe campaign for women's rights, Miley's Happy Hippie Foundation for a number of social justice causes, Jennifer Lopez's Lopez Family Foundation for healthcare access for women and children, and Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation for empowering young people. Click on any of those links to find out how you can get involved!

We look forward to seeing even more progress unfold in the near future. We hope you're listening, hear these women roar!

(Image via Dennis Van Tine/Future Image/WENN)

- Natalya Gioiella, YH Contributing Writer; additional reporting by Katie Marzullo, YH Staff Editor