It’s long been said that for a woman to get half as much credit as a man, she has to work twice as hard and be twice as smart. As someone who’s familiar with being more qualified, competent and dedicated than her male peers, Hillary Clinton knows a great deal about this.

The good news is that research to support King’s College London’s World Questions events series (which I’ll kick off with Clinton today), reveals the public now recognise that women often have to be better and brighter than their male counterparts to reach similar heights – and that men tend to have other advantages that are bigger factors in their success.

The study, by the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, the Policy Institute and Ipsos Mori, finds that 26 per cent of Britons think intelligence is one of the most important factors in helping women get ahead, compared with 17 per cent who say the same for men. But even then, intelligence will only get you so far: for example, women in England with postgraduate degrees are still paid less than men with only bachelor’s degrees.

What’s more, it seems people in Britain recognise that women are more likely to have to earn what’s given to them, putting in more time and effort than men to get similar rewards: 37 per cent say working hard is key for women’s success, versus 29 per cent for men. This could be a sign of a growing awareness that for most women the working day doesn’t end when you leave the office. In the UK, there’s a stark divide in unpaid labour among heterosexual couples, even where both partners work full time. According to one estimate, based on 2015 data, full-time working mothers spend double the amount of time on physical childcare that full-time working fathers do in Britain each day.

Meanwhile, the public are also aware that social capital – the range and quality of one’s social network – is a trump card that men have over women. Some 29 per cent of Britons say having connections is important for men’s success – almost double the 15 per cent who say the same for women. The power of the old boys’ network is not lost on the public: for women, it’s what you know; for men, it’s still who you know.

14 women using social media to change the world Show all 14 1 /14 14 women using social media to change the world 14 women using social media to change the world Marley Dias @iammarleydias At just 11 years old, Marley Dias gained international attention in 2016 after becoming frustrated with the lack of diversity in her school curriculum. What followed was a viral social media campaign, #1000blackgirlbooks, calling for titles featuring black girls as protagonists to be donated. Nearly 4,000 books were donated, and Dias now tackles prejudice and advocates for diversity in literature. Getty 14 women using social media to change the world Rina Sawayama @rinasonline Rina Sawayama came in a blaze of neon and sci-fi coolness in early 2016 when she released the single 'Where U Are', which explored how humans interact with digital media. Since then, the singer and model from north London has been a trailblazer for intersectional feminism. Whether it’s singing about her experiences as a pansexual woman or starting Twitter conversations about cultural appropriation in the media, Sawayama has taken both the music world and social media by storm with her politically vibrant work. A quick look at her Instagram account (@rinasonline) will reveal a confident woman who is not afraid to voice her opinions to her 141,000 followers. Getty 14 women using social media to change the world Chidera Eggerue @theslumflower At only 24 years old, Eggerue came to prominence with her viral 2017 social media campaign #SaggyBoobsMatter. 'It was only small-boobed women who were ‘allowed’ to not wear a bra,' the author said in an interview with The Guardian. “I couldn’t understand why … I had to challenge it.” Her decision to not wear a bra shouldn’t be deemed radical, yet here she is in 2019 challenging the ideas that women are pressured to confirming too. Women of all ages and shapes use the hashtag to show pride in themselves, as a result of the body positivity Eggerue championed. Her blog, The Slumflower, also discusses sexism, feminism and racism. Getty Images 14 women using social media to change the world Scarlett Curtis @scarcurtis You may know her as the writer who exposed Philip Green’s willingness to profit off feminism but reject the idea of having a pink pop-up stall in Topshop back in October 2018. However, Scarlett Curtis is a trail-blazing feminist in other ways too. The author of Feminists Don’t Wear Pink & Other Lies co-founded The Pink Protest – a collective helping young feminist activist to take action online – in 2017, all while using her social media to challenge misogyny whenever she encounters it. Getty 14 women using social media to change the world Tarana Burke @TaranaBurke Also known as the mother of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke is an American social activist who is largely responsible for the international movement against sexual harassment that went viral in October 2017. The phrase was first used in 2006 on Burke’s Myspace account after she responded to a 13-year-old girl who had been sexually assaulted. The hashtag gained traction after actress Alyssa Milano encouraged victims of harassment to tweet the phrase. The call-out followed sexual abuse allegations against disgraced film producter Harvey Weinstein and has been used at least 19 million times on social media. Burke is a life-long activist for victims of sexual assault and harassment and continues to campaign such issues on social media. She has single-handedly changed the conversation on sexual violence. Getty 14 women using social media to change the world Sophie Sandberg @catcallsofnyc Tired of being unable to walk down the street without being constantly catcalled by men, activist Sophie Sandberg took to Instagram to expose an epidemic rife in society. Armed with multi-coloured chalk, she began documenting the horrific words that had been said to her all over New York in late 2016. Talking to the BBC about the project she stated: 'By writing [catcalls] in the same place that it happened, I hope the words may remember and think "Oh those were my words".' Women around the globe have been inspired by Sandberg’s work and Instagram accounts of women chalking messages have since sprung up from Columbia to Bangladesh. Sophie Sandberg 14 women using social media to change the world Hannah Witton @hannahwitton Hannah Witton is a sex-positive YouTuber and author who has vlogged candidly about sexual health, relationships and women’s issues since 2011. Over the years, the Mancunian has amassed over 500,000 subscribers. Witton is inspirationally confident and isn’t afraid of talking about her sex life to her thousands of subscribers in videos such as 'How Many People Have I Slept With?' and 'The Benefits of Porn'. The vlogger is also a champion for body positivity (her most viewed video with over 8 million views is about the struggles of large boobs) and invisible illnesses – as she herself suffers from ulcerative colitis and proudly wears a stoma. Getty 14 women using social media to change the world Adwoa Aboah @adwoaaboah British model Adwoa Aboah is no stranger to the crippling effect of depression having suffered from it herself. This is why the star established the mental health community Gurls Talk. It began in 2015 with an Instagram account and now serves as a place to discuss topics affecting women without any fear of judgement. It has since grown into a weekly podcast and a series of organised events that have brought women together from across the globe. Talking to the BBC about the project, Aboah noted: 'At school there still isn’t a place for girls and boys to realise they’re not alone …There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I promise that.' Getty 14 women using social media to change the world Laci Green @gogreen18 YouTuber Laci Green has been educating her subscribers on the nuances of sex education for over 10 years and has amassed over 1.4 million subscribers. The vlogger's videos, which are prominent in the sex-positive movement due to their candour, cover topics such as birth control, hormones and abortion in an attempt to remove the stigma surrounding them. Green is also very outspoken against slut-shaming and sexual harassment, being one of the first YouTubers to address the sexual harassment claims levied against vlogger Sam Pepper in 2014. Getty 14 women using social media to change the world Ash Sarkar @AyoCaesar From describing broadcaster Piers Morgan an 'idiot' to declaring herself a communist on Good Morning Britain, Ash Sarkar is a dynamic journalist making waves on the internet and TV. The north London native champions the rights of women and immigrants on social media, with a Twitter account that is rife with political commentary with a humorous edge. Meanwhile, her Instagram showcases all her campaigning work including protests on climate change and Brexit. Sarkar is also a senior editor at Novara Media – an independent, radical left-wing news organisation. Ash Sarkar 14 women using social media to change the world Gina Martin @ginamartin Writer and activist Gina Martin hit national headlines when she began a viral campaign to make 'upskirting' illegal. Taking to Facebook, Martin explained how a man took photos of her crotch without her permission and got away with it in a post that subsequently went viral in 2017. She then launched a petition for her case to be reopened and for the action to be made part of the 2003 Sexual Offences Act. Using the hashtag, #StopSkirtingTheIssue, the petition managed to get over 100,000 signatures. As of 2019, 'upskirting' is now illegal and this is largely down to the efforts of Martin. The activist continues to promote feminist causes to her 40,000 Instagram followers. AFP 14 women using social media to change the world Rowan Blanchard @rowanblanchard When Rowan Blanchard isn’t taking over the world of acting, she’s taking to Twitter and Instagram to talk to her 5.1 million followers about various activist pursuits. The 17-year-old uses her platform to discuss social and economic issues, with topics as diverse as human rights and gun control, and isn’t afraid to give a voice to those who haven’t been heard. Blanchard was very vocal in the aftermath of the Stoneman Douglas shootings earlier this year, talking with activists and highlighting their plight on social media. Getty 14 women using social media to change the world Liv Little @livlittle As the founder of Gal-dem, a magazine produced by women of colour, Liv Little has gained international recognition for her work in diversifying print media. After becoming frustrated with the lack of representation at Bristol University where Little attended, the 25-year-old created the publication in an attempt to give women of colour a voice in the media. Her business is growing rapidly, alongside Gal-dem’s social media following which stands at more than 111,000. Little can be found on Twitter talking about everything from activism to literature. Getty 14 women using social media to change the world Kat Blaque @kat_blaque Blaque is a transgender activist who forged her career calling out racism, transphobia and white privilege on her successful YouTube channel of the same name. In an interview with The Huffington Post she said: 'I’m a woman. I’m black. I’m curvy and I’m trans … when I talk about those things, I am literally talking about my embodiment of those intersections.' Her series, 'True Tea', is where she candidly embraces controversial topics in an attempt to change the narrative around them. Videos include 'Why is "LeftTube" So White' and 'Cultures Are Not Costumes'. Getty

And as any woman who’s been leered at or received unwanted comments on her appearance will recognise, it’s also about how you look.

One in 10 Britons say good looks are a key factor in helping women get ahead, while just 4 per cent say the same for men. The depressing reality is that if women want to be seen as just as competent as men, they not only have to be better, they have to look better too. Previous research has found that women who are judged to be unattractive or unfeminine are evaluated more negatively than similarly unattractive men.

You might have hoped we’d reached a point where a person’s appearance isn’t deemed relevant to their suitability for a job, but recent reports revealed that last year a consulting firm trained young female employees on the need to be “polished” and have a “good haircut, manicured nails [and] well-cut attire that complements your body type” in order to progress in their careers.

So how can we level the playing field so that women are not judged by higher standards and expected to do more and be better than men? The public think the world of work would be a good place to start. Employers get most of the blame for the persistent gender inequality in society, according to this research. In the British public’s view, the top three barriers to women’s success are employers not doing enough to close the gender pay gap (27 per cent), a lack of employer support for women in balancing work and care responsibilities (22 per cent) and employers not promoting women to senior positions (21 per cent).

The latest academic research agrees that in more advanced economies the workplace is one of the final frontiers for gender equality. According to economist Claudia Goldin, an end to long-hours culture and a growth in flexible working arrangements would have seismic effects on gender relations.

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Beyond employment issues, unfair media portrayals of women are seen as the next biggest cause of inequality between men and women in Britain. In fact,16 per cent of the British public say this is a key factor – the highest of all 27 countries surveyed, and significantly higher than the global average of 9 per cent. So it’s certainly a good thing that the UK is cracking down on pernicious gender stereotypes on TV.

Make no mistake, we’ve made a great deal of progress on equality between women and men. But there’s still a long way to go before capable, competent women get the same rewards as their less-than-stellar male counterparts. Just ask Hillary Clinton.