WEBVTT - Ambassador Melanne Verveer and Kim Azzarelli on Why 2020 Matters 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:20.200 Hi. This is Milan Vervie and this is Kim Azarelli. 0:00:20.360 --> 0:00:23.320 We are co authors of the book Fast Forward, How 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:26.840 Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose, And you're listening to 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:30.720 Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose, brought to you 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:39.360 by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio. Well, 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:42.040 I am so excited to be here today in studio 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:46.239 with Ambassador Milan Vervie, my colleague, the co founder of 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:49.879 Seneca Women, my friend, my mentor, and the mentor to 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:53.760 so many women around the world. Land was the first 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:58.720 ever appointed Ambassador at Large for global women's issues, and 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:00.920 we are just so delighted to have you here today. Milan, 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:04.280 I'm looking forward to our conversation. So at Seneca Women, 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:07.800 we wish everyone of your phillibic power, purpose and connection, 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:12.360 particularly in is such a big year for women and 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.760 we have a lot of high hopes for what this 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:19.920 commune for women's advancement. Milan, why is such an important year? Well, 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:23.840 I think, besides being a new year, obviously, is a 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:27.600 special year in terms of women's progress, something you and 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:32.200 I care very deeply about. This year marks the hundredth 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:37.240 anniversary of women's suffrage in the United States, an extraordinary 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:42.280 pioneering moment for women's progress, from which so much has emanated. 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.240 It really laid the groundwork for much of what we 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:49.120 experience today UH and continue to have to work on. 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:54.200 And it's also the anniversary of the Beijing Women's Conference 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:58.640 that took place in UH and that was a u 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:02.000 n convening of thousands of women from all over the 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:06.120 world that laid out a platform for action, a blueprint 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.720 against which in many ways we still measure our progress today. 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:13.320 So let's talk a little bit more about women's suffrage. 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:15.480 Can you tell us a little bit about Seneca Falls 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:20.440 and that journey to achieving suffrage in ninety Well, suffrage 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:24.880 obviously is about the right to vote, and when women 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.040 came together for the Equal Rights Convention in the United 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:32.280 States that took place in Seneca Falls, hence our name 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:37.359 Seneca Women all of those years ago, in eighty eight, 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:41.240 well over a hundred and fifty years ago. They came 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:48.240 together because there were so many egregious ways in which 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:52.200 women were not treated with any modicum of equality, and 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:56.600 they wanted to rectify that. You know, I remember reading 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:00.600 the diary of a woman called Charlotte Woodarde was very 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:04.080 young and her life was quite miserable, as it was 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:08.280 for many women in those times, the meager wages that 0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:11.720 she earned as a glovemaker. There was no right to 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:15.919 vote for women. Education was hit and miss in terms 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:20.680 of opportunity. If one found herself in a miserable marriage, 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:24.280 there was no right to divorce. It was just a 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:30.040 different time when inequality loomed large. And this young woman 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:32.880 decided she would make the trip to Seneca Falls. And 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:37.200 she writes about this great fear and yet the need 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:40.480 to muster her courage to go, and she said that 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:43.840 when the sun finally came up, she would see this 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:48.600 procession of stage coaches and people walking, a procession of 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.360 men and women, a procession on the road to equality. 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:57.120 And when you think back at the Declaration of Sentiments 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:01.840 that those brave women and men adopted, one of the 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:06.200 key grievances they named was not having the right to vote, 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:12.560 which for many was seen as an absolutely fundamental right 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:16.000 that would enable so much more to happen in terms 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:19.480 of women's progress. And there was a big debate about it, 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:24.599 both in Seneca Falls and later because many questioned the 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:27.640 right for women to engage in public affairs, and they 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:30.080 thought that if they got the right to vote, it 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:34.360 would lead to other kinds of activities that might necessarily 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.960 not be viewed as appropriate for women of the times. 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:43.400 So it was a moment of stunning historical import and 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:46.960 I think that speaks to us today, because while the 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:50.839 world in many ways is very different, we're all still 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:53.440 on that road to equality. Some of us have made 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:57.800 greater progress than others, but we're still there. And I 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:02.640 think we should take that event, both in terms of 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:06.839 what happened at Seneca Falls, but even more importantly in 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:10.400 some ways the fact that a hundred years ago women 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:14.440 in the United States finally got the right to vote, 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:17.160 and I think it took them seventy years to achieve 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:19.920 that goal. We always talk about that they didn't travel 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:22.039 by uber or left. They were traveling by horse and 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:25.280 buggy trying to really advocate for this, and there were 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:28.799 severe consequences in that struggle, and so it's so important 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.440 to recognize what it took. They think you made a 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:35.400 really important point about the courage it took, because I 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:39.039 think in that itself there are lessons for us. You know, 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.440 the women engaged in all kinds of activities. They had 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:45.640 petition drives, and I think at times they exceeded a 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:51.039 two hundred thousand plus. They were engaged in parades, they 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.960 were on soap boxes, they were accused of not being ladylike. 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:58.679 They went in every kind of public venue they could 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:02.440 muster to make their case. Susan B. Anthony in fact, 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:05.920 voted in one of the presidential elections and was fined 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.719 for activity because she was told she didn't have the 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:12.719 right to vote and so uh. In other instances, women 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:17.960 were imprisoned for short periods of time. This was something 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:21.760 that we need to understand that we stand on the 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:26.480 shoulders of women struggling for this right. And I think 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:30.560 beyond that, they employed all kinds of tactics. They went 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:34.880 before the Congress, they used lawsuits. So both in terms 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:38.880 of their struggle, in terms of the networking that they 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:44.640 engaged in, the partnerships that they employed, the alliances with 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:50.200 other organizations, we have a lot to learn also from 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:54.560 both their courage and all of their visionary and creative 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:58.719 ways that they went about trying to achieve something that 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:01.320 matters for each and the one of us to this day, 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:05.000 thinking about how they how they went to such lengths 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:08.040 to shift the perspectives of a whole culture, because as 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:10.920 you said, it was advocating in the legal system, and 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:13.520 part of that though, was changing mindsets, which we know 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:15.640 is not easy. And as you said, they had so 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:18.800 many tactics that they tried to employ through through those networks, 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:22.040 through those alliances. I was reading. In fact, at one 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:25.600 point I remember that they used bicycles and they said, 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:28.960 you know, they were going to gain suffrage on their bicycles, 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:32.280 because that became a new mode of transportation that these 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:37.200 women employed. But I think fundamentally, and why you and 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.760 I are so passionate about what they were able to 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:44.360 do is for what it says to us today and 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:49.000 how we can uh ensure that we do understand that 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:51.720 we stand on their shoulders, but that we also have 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:55.600 to chart greater progress to build on that in this 0:07:55.720 --> 0:08:09.760 twenty one century. We'll be back after this break. Another 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:13.320 momentous h anniversary this year, as you mentioned, is the 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:17.600 anniversary of the u N World Conference on Women in Beijing, 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:21.640 a hundred years ago since women achieved suffrage UH seventy 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.600 five years later, women met from around the world in 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.880 Beijing to talk about women's rights. Can you tell us 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:30.160 a little bit about that, well, it wasn't conveying that 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:34.559 had built on three earlier convenings that the United Nations 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:37.960 had in different parts of the world, and this one, 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:43.679 I think resonated so significantly because women's rights still were 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:47.200 not chiseled in international human rights law. And when you 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:51.360 think about it, one of the pivotal moments in that 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:56.000 coming together, that gathering of tens of thousands of delegates 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:59.400 and activists was the speech that the then First Lady 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:06.440 of the United States made, Hillary Clinton. If there is 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:11.240 one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:16.000 be that human rights are women's rights, and women's rights 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:23.559 are human rights, once and for all. In many ways 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:28.800 sparked the movement to continue this progress, because when she 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:33.240 got up and said human rights are women's rights, and 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:37.800 women's rights are human rights, it really said it. All 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:43.360 women are human and women's rights are human rights. And 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:46.960 yet it took all of that time to begin to 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:52.040 make uh this progress in terms of recognizing that. For example, 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:56.280 in an earlier convening, one that took place in Nairobi, 0:09:57.040 --> 0:10:00.520 it was African women who put the issue of violence 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:03.680 against women, which we know today continues to be a 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:08.160 global scourge manifested in so many ways. They put that 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:12.040 issue on the agenda in the previous conference, and it 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:16.640 was finally recognized in Beijing that the issue of violence 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:20.960 against women was indeed a violation of human rights. And 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:24.640 among the things that Hillary Clinton said in that speech 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:28.560 that historic moment was that all of these things that 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:32.720 were happening to women and continue to be happening, whether 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:37.160 it's dowry burnings or honor killings or the trafficking of women, 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:43.520 that these were violations of human rights. And that meeting 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:47.800 in Beijing twenty five years ago, you know, it wasn't 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:50.160 that long ago, and so many younger women say to 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:53.560 me today, you know what was the big deal. Well, 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:56.880 it was a big deal because we were moving to 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:01.600 ensure that under the international laws that this would finally 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:05.840 have its place and be recognized as such. And out 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:10.959 of it came a lot of progressive changes, including the 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:15.480 passage of laws around the world in country after country. 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:19.679 They're not always fully implemented, but laws against violence against 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:24.000 women that the States had a responsibility to protect their 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:30.199 citizens women from these terrible violations of their human rights. 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:32.080 So tell us a little bit about what it was 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:34.400 like to be there, in Beijing. I mean, those of 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:37.880 us who remember the moment from Afar and those of 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:41.080 us who understand the incredible impact that's had would love 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:42.720 to hear what it was like to be in that 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:46.320 room that day. Well, it was quite incredible for me 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:49.199 in a very personal way, because I had been involved 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:52.640 over many, many months in the planning of the US 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:57.240 participation in Beijing, and particularly the role of the First Lady. 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.640 You know, I thought back to the women in Seneca 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:03.960 fall Is because in many ways, Uh, the opposition was saying, 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.559 she shouldn't go to Beijing. It's a conference that's going 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:11.480 to destroy the family. Others who were very mindful of 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:14.600 the human rights violations of China, we're saying, well, no, 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:17.439 she shouldn't go, and she shouldn't reward the Chinese. Well, 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.440 it wasn't a reward for the Chinese. It was really 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:24.120 all about women's rights at an international conference that happened 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:27.560 to be located there. And then when she got into 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:31.960 this litany of the human rights you could just feel 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:36.640 in the room so many of those delegates, hundreds and hundreds, 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:40.640 realizing that this woman from the most powerful country in 0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:44.320 the world would take on these causes and that at 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:49.240 that moment, there was this realization that yes, she is right, 0:12:49.720 --> 0:12:53.280 these were violations of human rights, and there was this 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:59.000 tremendous crescendo, just this tremendous reaction of people in the 0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:03.600 room of sustained applause. And I remember when we were 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:09.760 leaving this cavernous conference room, people on all sides were 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:14.120 applauding and and thanking her. It was one of those 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:18.560 moments where I personally felt this is history in the making. 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:20.880 Fast forward to two thousand and nine and your time 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:23.960 in the State Department, when your position was really created. 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:28.800 Hillary Clinton becomes Secretary of State and under President Obama 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:32.640 and Secretary Clinton, they create the first ever position of 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:36.000 US Ambassador at Large for global women's issues. And I 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:38.880 think many people would say there would be no better 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.480 candidate and nobody could have done the job better than 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:44.200 you did do in those four years. So can you 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:45.760 talk to us a little bit about what it was 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:49.680 like to represent the United States on behalf of women 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:52.200 um and what it was like to advocate for women 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:56.520 in these public sector settings in countries that maybe really 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.200 were a little bit further behind in terms of fundamental 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:03.959 rights for women. Well, I felt it was an awesome responsibility, obviously, 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:08.120 and it was fundamentally about our own national security, and 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:11.319 that's what we had to recognize. Yes, it was about 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:14.240 doing good. Yes it was about making a difference for women, 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:18.480 but it was also recognizing that in places where women's 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:23.000 rights are denied and women are oppressed, those places resort 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:28.080 to instability, to conflict, to the kinds of problems that fester, 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:31.560 grow bigger and cause huge issues for the United States. 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:36.080 It also represented our standing up for our values, and 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:39.560 that frankly made me so proud that I could represent 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:43.640 our great country on these issues where we could stand 0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:48.840 tall and say that we understood why these issues of 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:53.160 women's economic rights, human rights issues having to deal with 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:57.880 peace and security, we're so fundamental to our own concerns 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:02.760 and represented so snificantly our own values. So it was 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:07.680 a It was an awesome responsibility. I felt keenly. Working 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:13.800 with my colleagues in government especially provided another great sense 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:17.480 of we're all in this together, and this wasn't to 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:22.520 be just one office that focused on nice initiatives. That 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:26.160 was a good thing, but what I was told was 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:31.720 you are to be about integrating these issues, mainstreaming these 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:36.040 issues across the work of our State Department, and then 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:40.320 to work around the world meeting with women, uh and 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:43.600 realizing there is far more that we have in common. 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:49.600 Despite our cultural differences, potential religious differences, ethnic differences, we 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:52.400 have far more in common. And the woman in the 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:56.520 village understands that she should not be violated, she should 0:15:56.560 --> 0:16:00.400 be able to participate in her society. Well, that really 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:03.120 reminds me of a story that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:06.200 told me another first, the first woman on the U. S. 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:08.840 Supreme Court. You know, she had talked about the fact 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:12.760 that during the Arab Spring that women were really fully 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:16.160 participating into here square and we're really part of that 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.600 whole conversation. But what she had said, which I thought 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.400 was extremely interesting, was that if women were not part 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:26.720 of designing the constitution, that would be another hundred years lost. 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:30.040 And so this idea of women's participation in government, in 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:37.920 leadership incorporations is really essential. We'll be back after this break. 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:47.880 Can you talk to us a little bit about the 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:50.080 private sector and the role that the private sector plays 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.840 in all this. Well, I think the private sector has 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:56.400 an extremely important role to play, and it's a major 0:16:56.520 --> 0:17:00.920 principle of our effort in writing fast Forward, which is 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:05.000 clearly that one of the ways we can accelerate progress 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:07.399 for women and girls at home and around the world 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:11.880 is to come together and in large measure focus on 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:15.760 women and men in businesses and the roles that they 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:19.320 can play, no matter at what level they are. But 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.719 when you think about what we know today, which is 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:27.480 we can't grow economies without the full participation of women 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.520 in the economies of their countries, and yet in many 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:34.520 places that's still very problematic. We know, for example, that 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:39.679 women entrepreneurs are a vital force in growing economies, and 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:44.199 yet women entrepreneurs face so many constraints. And one of 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:46.919 the things I worked on in government was how do 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:51.000 we address those hurdles, those obstacles to their training, to 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:55.280 access to capital, which is a huge shortfall today around 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:58.280 the world, and in our own country getting the credit 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:02.520 that they need, access to markets. Uh. So much that 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:06.560 can make a difference is how business is source from 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:10.240 women business owners, and we see that in our own 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:13.960 country and globally. So we talk about and fast forward, 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:16.639 how we're at this moment where we have women in 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:19.639 positions of power like never before in history. We have 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:22.639 the evidence base case which you've talked about, and we 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:26.480 now have technology and that combination could be the great 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:29.840 accelerator that we're all waiting for. Recently, the Web came 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:31.720 out with its most recent report and said it would 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:35.200 take another two years was it to reach equality. So 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.320 in this moment, what can we do to leverage technology 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:44.639 to accelerate Well, we know, for example, that technology is 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:48.720 an important tool for women if development agencies focus a 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:53.080 lot today on the role that technology can play and 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:58.800 educating on health, in providing fundamental principles of education, in 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.520 helping women know where their markets are in the developing 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:05.199 world on a given day instead of walking to know 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:10.520 and in a very significant way, banking for the first 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:15.439 time ever, having access to financial resources in terms of 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:18.600 being able to make transactions or being able to save 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:23.480 your money safely through a simple mobile device. These are 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:28.320 transformative issues of significance and at Seneca Women, you and 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:32.639 I have talked about this many times that we adapt 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:36.760 taking the principles of fast forward, putting them into a 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:42.000 daily app where anyone can access that app any place 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:45.720 and get the kind of tools they need for their 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:49.199 own personal betterment, but also in ways to connect on 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:52.480 the important issues of our times. For us at Seneca. 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:54.520 We are so excited that we've been able to over 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:57.520 the last few years develop the Seneca Women app and 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:01.000 now launch the Seneca Women Podcast network because we're at 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:04.159 this unique moment where technology could help us accelerate. We 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:06.399 don't want to have to wait another hundred years to 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:08.600 make progress, and it shouldn't take us as long as 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:11.840 it has taken us to date. So, Milan, we've had 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:14.800 many firsts. You are one of the firsts, and you've 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:18.119 worked with really many of the first women leaders of 0:20:18.160 --> 0:20:21.960 different countries, different industries. Obviously you've worked very closely with 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:27.320 Hillary Clinton. But why haven't we cracked that final glass ceiling. Well, 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:32.240 there's just tremendous opposition that continues resistance, and a lot 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:36.920 of it is based on these norms. It's based on mindsets, 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:42.800 it's based on bias, whether it's conscious bias or unconscious bias. 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:45.560 It's very much a reality and we have to keep 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:51.160 chipping away, educating, working to demonstrate, and coming up with 0:20:51.240 --> 0:20:55.760 ways to really show why this change needs to come. 0:20:56.320 --> 0:20:58.800 Men are a very big part of the solution we need. 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:02.679 As the women who journey to Seneca Falls had the 0:21:02.720 --> 0:21:05.679 good men at their side, we need to continue to 0:21:05.800 --> 0:21:09.760 have men help us lead the way. And in Fast 0:21:09.800 --> 0:21:13.359 Forward we talk about men in different ways who have 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:17.960 used their leadership and their power to recognize the importance 0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:21.280 of these issues and most importantly, to do something about it, 0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:23.879 to play a leadership role. Can you tell us a 0:21:23.920 --> 0:21:26.280 little bit more about what you've seen in terms of 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:30.280 the power women's networks. Back when the women were struggling 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:35.720 over that hundred years effort um but struggling for women's 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:39.439 rights and then especially in the effort to gain the 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:42.600 right to vote for women, one of the things that 0:21:42.760 --> 0:21:48.199 is very striking was how those pioneering women began to 0:21:48.359 --> 0:21:53.240 forge networks with other women. You know, I think in 0:21:53.440 --> 0:21:58.200 so many places in the world there are women's organizations, 0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:02.720 self help group which is the only way women can 0:22:02.760 --> 0:22:06.719 get ahead because they've got so many uh efforts that 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:10.560 constrain them uh and work against them. But it's been 0:22:10.640 --> 0:22:17.640 that consolidation of or convergence of coming together and really 0:22:17.800 --> 0:22:21.680 working in a way that can bring about results. And 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:25.280 I think that lesson is as strong for today as 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:28.800 it was for the suffragettes, as it continues to be 0:22:28.920 --> 0:22:33.920 in so many places that when we come together networks 0:22:33.960 --> 0:22:38.360 of women need to be supported, They need to be enhanced, 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:41.520 They need to be able to grow, They need to 0:22:41.560 --> 0:22:47.640 be validated, whether it's through enhancing their voices through technology, 0:22:48.640 --> 0:22:55.800 or whether it's constantly saying these women are making a difference. 0:22:56.000 --> 0:22:59.920 This work is important. This matters for all of us, though. 0:23:00.000 --> 0:23:03.400 Those voices need to be enhanced, you know. And and 0:23:03.400 --> 0:23:06.359 it's in that context that we're launching the Seneca Women 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:10.720 Podcast Network, because it's not just about our voices or 0:23:10.760 --> 0:23:15.359 the voices of women who are household names, but it 0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:19.240 can be a tool for those, um we often don't 0:23:19.240 --> 0:23:23.280 hear about who are actually doing the heavy lifting, and 0:23:23.400 --> 0:23:26.040 so we hope that the podcast network will be that 0:23:26.160 --> 0:23:31.760 kind of tool to women who are the real change makers. Well. Look, 0:23:31.760 --> 0:23:33.960 and we're both so excited to be partnering with PENG 0:23:34.200 --> 0:23:36.680 on this effort because we know that it requires both 0:23:36.680 --> 0:23:39.560 the public sector and the private sector to make progress. 0:23:40.080 --> 0:23:43.000 And frankly, an organization like PING who has the reach 0:23:43.119 --> 0:23:45.879 and the ability to understand that they have the obligation 0:23:45.960 --> 0:23:47.720 to be both a force for good and a force 0:23:47.760 --> 0:23:52.040 for growth is really important. So in this moment, what 0:23:52.119 --> 0:23:55.840 can we each do? In writing Fast Forward, we really 0:23:55.880 --> 0:23:59.439 wanted to issue a clarion call to women everywhere and 0:23:59.480 --> 0:24:01.760 to men who who care deeply about these issues and 0:24:01.880 --> 0:24:06.440 understand why they're critical. Uh, that we each can be 0:24:06.520 --> 0:24:10.679 a partner in accelerating progress for women and girls. And 0:24:10.720 --> 0:24:13.679 our thesis is as true today as it was a 0:24:13.720 --> 0:24:16.080 few years ago when we sat down to write the book, 0:24:17.000 --> 0:24:21.639 which is to aknowledge and understand each of us has power. 0:24:22.280 --> 0:24:24.520 It doesn't have to be the power of a world leader, 0:24:24.680 --> 0:24:27.480 the power of a CEO. Uh. It is the power 0:24:27.520 --> 0:24:30.240 of a student on a campus. It is the power 0:24:30.280 --> 0:24:33.639 of an entry level person in a company. It is 0:24:33.680 --> 0:24:37.320 the power of a government worker even at a mid 0:24:37.359 --> 0:24:41.280 career level. We each have power no matter where we 0:24:41.320 --> 0:24:45.600 find ourselves. So when we acknowledge and know our power 0:24:46.080 --> 0:24:49.320 and we find our purpose whatever it is, but hopefully 0:24:49.359 --> 0:24:53.280 it's to accelerate progress for women and girls and connect 0:24:53.320 --> 0:24:58.480 with others, we can indeed make a difference. UH. So 0:24:58.800 --> 0:25:03.600 it is about power, purpose and connection. It is about 0:25:03.640 --> 0:25:06.479 each of us, and it is about the fact that 0:25:06.520 --> 0:25:10.040 it doesn't matter who you are or what your job is, 0:25:10.640 --> 0:25:15.920 you can indeed fast forward progress for women and girls everywhere. Well, 0:25:15.960 --> 0:25:17.960 and thank you so much. It has been incredible to 0:25:17.960 --> 0:25:20.520 hear your experience about what's happening for women around the 0:25:20.560 --> 0:25:23.680 world and what we can do to accelerate in well. 0:25:23.680 --> 0:25:26.920 It's always delightful and particularly to be here with you, 0:25:27.480 --> 0:25:34.440 Kim and engage in this conversation. You're listening to Seneca 0:25:34.440 --> 0:25:38.600 Women Conversations on Power and Purpose, brought to you by 0:25:38.640 --> 0:25:42.040 the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio with 0:25:42.200 --> 0:25:46.920 support from founding partner PNG. Listen to Seneca Women Conversations 0:25:46.960 --> 0:25:49.520 on Power and Purpose on the I Heart Radio app, 0:25:49.960 --> 0:25:53.840 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and please 0:25:53.880 --> 0:25:57.640 support this podcast by telling your friends, subscribing, and rating us. 0:25:58.280 --> 0:26:01.520 For more information on Seneca Women, follow us on social media, 0:26:02.000 --> 0:26:04.920 visit our website Seneca Women dot com, and check out 0:26:04.920 --> 0:26:07.960 the Seneca Women app free in the app store. Have 0:26:08.040 --> 0:26:22.040 a great day, m