A self evident truth, right? And yet, only 11% of the stories in US history textbooks are about women and less than 10% of public monuments across the US are of women — a statistic which includes mermaids! But finally, after decades of advocacy from women leaders, there will be such a museum in the Nation’s Capital… hopefully, in my lifetime!
Read More‘Struggle is a never-ending process.’
The time for mourning and heartfelt disappointment is ending and the time for organizing and activating in response to the potential dangers of a Trump presidency (again) is now. As the great civil rights leader, Coretta Scott King observed, “Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.”
Read MoreLove Your Mother and Mother Earth
We must restore earth's ecosystems so that Mother Earth is a livable home for everyone.
Read MoreNot one woman on the list.
Earlier this month, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev announced the organizing committee for COP29, which will be held there in November. The list included 28 appointees, including Azeri government ministers of energy, health, finance and economy, among others. What the list did not include: women.
Read MoreRemembering the life and work of First Lady Rosalynn Carter
Her “best” changed more than just the role or expectations for first ladies — she changed lives.
Read More‘Action is the antidote to despair’
As Joan Baez, one of my favorite songwriters/performers/activists from my political ‘coming of age’ era, once said, "Action is the antidote to despair." Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States, and voting is one action we can all take as US citizens — and a privilege for every person living in a democratic country — to fend off the despair so easily experienced given the wars, the violence, and the rollback on rights in so many places today.
Read MoreWhy We Need More Women in Office
In 2019, Nevada became the first state in the country with a female-majority state legislature, with women holding 33 of 63 legislative seats, proving that changing the representation picture at local and national levels is possible. It just takes more women voters, candidates, and leaders.
Read MoreOne Year On, the ‘Collateral Damage’ of Dobbs on Women's Health Care in America
One year after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, women across the United States are feeling the effects. There are 25 million American women living in states with abortion bans or tighter restrictions. But even in states where abortion is legal, abortion providers are seeing patients who have traveled, sometimes great distances, to access reproductive care.
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(L-R) Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens; Woodruff Arts Center President & CEO Hala Moddelmog with Pat Mitchell, co-founder and editorial director of TEDWomen and WAC board member, and Monique Ruff-Bell, head of conferences at TED. (October, 2022, Photo by Ben Dashwood for Woodruff Arts Center).
Join Me in Taking Two Steps Forward at TEDWomen This Fall!
We’ll celebrate those taking bold strides into the future and those working unapologetically to make big dreams become reality, highlighting the progress being made toward equity in technology, science, and health care while giving space for an important review of the barriers to full economic, racial and gender equity everywhere!
Read MoreWhat Would It Look Like If the Workplace Was Built for Women?
Supporting the world’s working women with more equitable opportunities that provide equilibrium with our roles as wives, life partners, mothers, daughters, aunts and sisters, remains one of the significant challenges of our times for nearly all countries.
Read More50 Women in 50 States Fighting for Climate Justice
“Love Your Mother lifts up the stories of women who are poets, physicians, climate scientists, students, farmers, writers, documentary filmmakers, and more,” writes Mallory. “Their work lights the way for conversation and collective action in our homes and in the world. It's time we follow their lead.”
Read MoreThe Audacious Project Announces 2023 Changemakers
The idea for The Audacious Project sprang from the entrepreneurial and risk-taking minds of Jeff Skoll and Chris Anderson. They believed that the good work of innovators and entrepreneurs that the Skoll Foundation was funding and the ideas being presented in TED talks could be scaled if a big infusion of funding could be directed at the right time to the right people and organizations — those ready to make big changes.
Read MoreWomen Leading on Climate
This week, I’m writing about a favorite convening that is not called a conference but a festival — the WOW Festival! WOW for “Women of the World.” I was invited to participate in a panel on the climate crisis and to share the still in-progress plans for a global campaign for climate justice led by women — named Project Dandelion.
Read MoreThis International Women's Day, #EmbraceEquity
We've waited 100 years for equality in our Constitution. When will Congress act? This week, I write about the history of International Women’s Day, the need for Congress to affirm the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and the difference between equality and equity, and why we all need to work for both in our offices and communities.
Read More“The Martha Mitchell Effect”
One of the five Oscar nominees in the Documentary Short category tells the story of Martha Mitchell and her pivotal role in the Watergate scandal in a political and psychological thriller that I highly recommend. “The Martha Mitchell Effect” had its World Premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix.
Read MoreWomen Leaders Who Are Redefining What Power Looks Like
This week, I’m sharing some of the inspiring stories of women around the world who are stepping up to challenge inequality at its roots by putting themselves forward as leaders in government. In many ways, these women are redefining what power can look like and I, like so many others, am excited about the differences they can and will make as leaders.
Read More'Please do not forget us" - the women of Afghanistan
Dr. Sakena Yacoobi is one of Afghanistan’s most honored and deeply committed women leaders. She founded and leads the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), an organization that provides education, health, social and economic programming to Afghan women. In August, when the Taliban retook power in her country, she made an urgent plea to me and all other women around the world: "Please do not forget us."
Read MoreReflecting on "What Now?" at TEDWomen 2021
I'm still processing all the incredible talks and ideas shared at last week's TEDWomen, held live and in-person! The "magic" that results when the TEDWomen community comes together was very evident in Palm Springs this year. I was so thrilled to see old friends, make new ones and listen to the more than 40 speakers and entertainers share their ideas around this year's theme of "What Now?"
Read MoreA Conversation with Cristina Ljungberg and the Maverick Collective
I was honored to be included in the Maverick Collective’s summer reading list this year. Earlier this fall, I joined Cristina Ljungberg to discuss my book, Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change the World, and the power of storytelling to effect change on their community YouTube channel.
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Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels
A "Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity" to Solve a Universal American Problem
When I was a working single mother in Boston in the 1980s, finding a balance between work and parenting was a constant struggle. Legislation moving through Congress this week would make that struggle a little easier for so many working parents in America. And it's about time!
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