This article originally appeared on Girls’ Globe. Reposted with permission.

Today, outside of the Social Good Summit, we spoke with young women about the most pressing issues related to gender equality in their communities.

“The biggest challenge in terms of gender equality is getting everyone to understand how important it is and how it impacts everyone. A lot of times we feel that these issues are for women only or girls only, so it becomes very unrelatable to men and boys. The biggest challenge is getting everyone, especially men and boys – fathers, uncles, brothers – to understand that it is actually in the interest of everyone, including themselves, to support gender equality.” – Christine Lu

Christine Lu. Photo: Zayira Ray / Girls’ Globe

“To me, the most pressing issue in reaching gender equality today is the inability for many people to see the I in you or seeing the us versus them. Which means that we are constantly thinking in silos – and we lose our humanity if we are not able to relate to one another. If we are able to overcome that then we would be able to get deeper connections and treat each other with equality.” – Leslie Flores Valmonte

Leslie Flores Valmonte. Photo: Zayira Ray / Girls’ Globe

“I’m from Canada, where we need to focus on mental health and provide support for those who are struggling with these issues. There is still a stigma against mental health issues and some of these experiences that young people are going through. We need to focus on mental health as we are trying to find our identities.” – Kelly Lovell

Photo: Zayira Ray / Girls’ Globe

These amazing profile photos were taken by Zayira Ray for Girls’ Globe. Follow her on Instagram @zay.ira.

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