Women are everywhere. No surprise, right? They do, after all, make up 50 percent of the world's population. Yet, everywhere we look, women are a topic of conversation. Michelle Obama's outfit choices on a recent tour of Japan are proclaimed to break down female stereotypes. Sweaty, jiggling, and fabulous women exercising on our screens chant “This girl can.” A woman's mob killing in Afghanistan sparks a global#JusticeForFarkhunda movement. The banning of “India's Daughter,” a documentary about the gang rape in Delhi, raises hackles across the globe. Meanwhile, Ellen Pao's lawsuit against venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins sheds light on sexism in Silicon Valley, even if she lost.

Why so much activity stirring around the boundaries of gender? And why now? As cultural insight mavens, we see something fundamental taking place. Some people are calling it the Fourth Wave of Feminism. Fed up with everyday sexism and forged by other forms of activism, women are empowered by social media and other communications technologies. They are speaking up across all sectors, countries, and societies.

This is a cultural movement that is bringing the diversity and complexity of women's lives to the fore. It is pushing politics, culture, and brands to tackle the thorny issues of educational and job equality, freedom from violence, bias, and so much more.