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Filmmaker LOUISE LEVER admits she was constantly surprised while making a documentary about feminism in the 21st century.

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I was bored at work - that's how it started. I borrowed an unused video camera and promised my boss I wouldn't break it. Hillary Clinton was running for US president, and I couldn't help wondering about the state of feminism in this part of the world. Were we any better? The heart of my film Revolt She Said is about why it's taking so long to reach gender equality in Australia and New Zealand. I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to wait 132 years for the global gender gap to close.

In fact, there's been a widening of the gender pay gap as a result of the Covid pandemic, and many of the same issues feminists fought for in the 70s and 80s are still being fought for today. The rollback of Roe vs Wade in the US is one example of how things can turn to custard. We must all protect the rights and freedoms we have today in New Zealand because if 2022 has taught me anything, it's to not take anything for granted.