As the Women in the World conference marked its 10th anniversary a few weeks ago, the thousands of disruptive leaders in the audience were posed the question: can women save the world? In the face of environmental distress, global female inequity, political divide, government censorship, and violence, the problems facing our world can feel overwhelming. As informed women, we know the issues and we’ve experienced the tribulations and marginalization. Knowing where we stand, the goal of this summit was, instead, to unite, acknowledge pioneers of change, and inspire action.
Gathering in the Lincoln Center theater, I’m sure I was not the only one in the audience to feel the immensity of these issues and the vulnerability on stage. No other event has ever impacted me in such a way that made me question my own actions and where my values stand. Here are 14 quotes from the strong and capable speakers during the conference that hopefully will strike a chord within you to reflect and engage with your fellow women in the world.
Day 1
“Can women save the world? First, save yourself then offer what you know to help save your family, and then your community, and then the world…It is your job to first make yourself whole.” -Oprah Winfrey, Philanthropist
“Climate will be the defining issue of our century, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean.” -Christina Mittermeier, National Geographic photographer
“My father to this day has to give me permission to leave the country. When my son turns 18 he will become my legal guardian.” -Manal Al-Sharif, Author and Saudi Arabian Women’s Activist
“As strong women when we say we’ll develop a thick skin, we are actually normalizing the behavior. Asking you to simply block an abusive account on Twitter is the same as telling a woman to not walk alone at night in a short skirt.” -Barkha Dutt, Washington Post Columnist
“The two biggest exports of my country are oil and terrorism. The men leave the country to die, the women leave the country to live.” -Manal Al-Sharif, Author and Saudi Arabian Activist
“Money is this thing that people feel is super icky and that’s the trap. The trap is they make you feel icky about it so that you don’t ask for what you deserve.” -Brie Larson, Actor & Director
“They [social media companies] have built these digital cities. They get all the rent on them, making them billionaires, but they’ve decided to have no police, no garbage men, no justice system, no signs, and a whole bunch of potholes.” Kara Swisher, Editor-at-large of Recode
“Although I value that there is an opening of the door, it’s a very narrow door!” -Glenda Jackson, Actor & Former Member of British Parliament
Day 2
“I’m looking forward to the post-label generation when we don’t have to label our candidates the ‘gay mayor of South Bend’ or the ‘black female candidate from California’. How about they’re just great candidates?” -Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue
“One thing I do to tackle bias is something I call ‘flip the pronouns’. If you can’t finish the sentence with ‘he’ instead of ‘she’, please don’t say it for women.” -Carolyn Tastad, North American Group President of P&G
“If you make yourself indispensable based on competence, what can they do without you?” -Indra Nooyi, Former Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo
“We all believe that when we take a piece of plastic and put it in a recycling bin, that it’s actually getting recycled. Well guess what? It doesn’t. Globally, only 9% of plastic gets recycled” -Miranda Wang, Co-Founder and CEO of BioCellection Inc.
“Women supply the emotional support, almost all of the time. If we’re wise we can hopefully develop sensitive and more compassionate men” -Bryan Cranston, Actor & Producer
“Given the chance, many women will govern and lead differently”. -Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former Secretary of State
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