WEBVTT - Pat Mitchell: Media Groundbreaker and Change-Maker 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:09.040 So here's the difference that we can all make every 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:13.720 single day by what we choose to do. How are 0:00:13.760 --> 0:00:17.360 we using our social media, what are we listening to? 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:21.200 So it's easy to feel disempowered, when in fact, the 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:24.600 biggest power we have is that off on switch. Every 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:29.880 media joyce we is either an advocacy position for what 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:33.640 matters to women are it's quite the opposite, And we 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:38.280 won't change the power structure unless we let our power 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:44.360 of voices be heard. That was Pat Mitchell by her 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:48.559 own definition. She's a dangerous woman, and that's a good thing. 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:52.520 She's a groundbreaker in media, having been the first woman 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:59.120 president of PBS and CNN Productions, among her many other achievements. 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:02.960 She also help to create TED Women, where she is 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:07.640 editorial director. I'm a land Ververe and this is Seneca's 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:11.280 one Women to Hear. We are bringing you one hundred 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.760 of the world's most inspiring and history making women you 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:20.000 need to hear. Pat Mitchell's memoir Becoming a Dangerous Woman 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:23.200 tells how she went from life as a small town 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:29.200 Georgia girl with no money and no connections to global success. 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:33.000 That success includes winning an Emmy, being a film and 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:37.040 TV producer, being the first woman to own and host 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:41.560 a nationalist syndicated daily talk show, and acting as a 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:45.600 lifelong champion of women in the media and in leadership. 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:50.120 Let's listen and learn why Pat Mitchell is one of 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:55.520 Seneca's one hundred Women to hear Well, I'm just thrilled 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:59.760 to be here today with Pat Mitchell. She has really 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:05.160 blazed trails uh pioneering, particularly on women in the media, 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:08.160 but so much more so, Pat, thank you so much 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:11.800 for being with us, Milan. It's a privilege. You have 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:18.200 had so many important groundbreaking positions, first woman to head 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:24.000 PBS and CNN productions, to heading the Payley Center, to 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:28.160 editorial director of TED Women, and we can go on 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:33.519 and on. But I know personally, what stays you connected 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:39.400 is elevating women's stories and experiences, and you have been 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:43.960 so consistent on that. So why is that so important 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:48.080 to you even though these positions have been buried. You know, 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:51.959 my lan, I believe that being connected to each other, 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:57.600 understanding each other's stories and learning from each other's experiences 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:02.960 is how we survive, and more importantly, it's how we thrived. 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:06.440 I mean for generations, going way back to the beginning. 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.000 You know, we did it outside of the caves of 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:11.680 the huts while the men were off hunting. We shared 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:15.480 stories of survival, and then we moved forward from there 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:19.680 to over our back fences are now in talking circles, 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:22.880 and now as you and I are talking together, now 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:27.480 we have learned from each other, and we've also gone 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:31.639 into each other's lives with a deeper level of understanding 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:35.640 of what we share. Clearly, our lives are different. We 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:39.960 are not monolithic as a community of global women, but 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:44.640 we share certain things. We share certain experiences, and by 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:48.880 understanding them, seeing them up close, um leads us to 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:53.480 do things that are not possible individually, collective problem solving, 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:59.320 for example, leveraging our power to make things happen. I mean, 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:01.920 you've led so many of those efforts in Milan, and 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:04.840 you've been in so many of the talking circles that 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:08.600 I've been in, And I never ever come away from 0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:13.440 a gathering of women without hearing some story or some experience, 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:18.520 or some insight that illuminates a problem for me or 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:22.279 shows me a new way forward. So I think being 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:28.159 together and knowing about each other, elevating each other's experiences 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:33.280 and ideas is probably our single biggest survival tool, and 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:38.159 it is certainly our biggest lever of power to change things. 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:40.880 I couldn't agree more with you, Pat, and you have 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:45.000 been just an exceptional connector not just with women across 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:48.800 the United States, but truly all around the world. I 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:51.839 want to ask you about women in the media, how 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:55.880 women are represented in the media today, because we know, uh, 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:59.479 and you know better than most how it's evolved. But 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:02.279 for you can tell us what it was like when 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.720 you started out, uh, and then modest as you are, 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:08.359 perhaps a little bit about how you helped change it. 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:12.880 When I started, it was a lonely place to be. Uh. 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:15.760 There were there were only three or four of us, 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:19.680 and possibly only one and most media companies. You know, 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:23.680 the government had insisted that women and minorities as we 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:27.200 refer to communities of color at that time, that we 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:30.479 all be hired so that television would start to look 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:34.200 a little bit more representative. But it didn't look representative, 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.640 and we were encouraged, as you remember, Milan, we were 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:41.599 encouraged not to form ally ship. We were encouraged to 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:45.880 protect our turf, stay away from each other. UM. And 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:49.520 therefore the numbers took a long time to increase. Because 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:53.560 we weren't doing what we do best, which is advocating 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:58.000 for each other. So those early days number numbers matter, 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:02.320 they still matter. And this morning, as I was reflecting 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:05.200 on some of the changes that I see in a 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:11.040 media which, by the way, so sadly still misrepresents an 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:16.160 under represents women and communities of color, I did have 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:19.960 to think there are some things to celebrate, and one 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:23.880 of them I'm experiencing this week at the Sundance Film Festival, 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:28.800 where more than half of the films and projects here 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:35.479 Milan were directed produced by women. Now that's an incredible 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:39.200 increase over the I think the largest number of any 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:44.240 film festival storytelling representation of women before that have been 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:47.800 somewhere around thirty but this year to go over half 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:52.040 and more than thirty percent of that from artists of women, 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:56.400 artists of color. So we have made progress, and clearly 0:06:56.520 --> 0:07:00.000 we've made progress. In numbers, you can see more women 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.680 and you can hear more women's voices. But where it 0:07:03.800 --> 0:07:07.840 matters even more than in numbers, is what we are 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:12.560 doing as individual women who have the opportunity like you 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:16.480 and I do, to have access the media platforms like 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:21.480 this one. Also, every woman who is a media consumer, 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:26.600 and that's all of us to be using our media platforms, 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:30.800 whatever they may be, to elevate and advocate for other women, 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:34.640 because that's the way real change is going to happen. 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.800 You asked me not not to be modest and to 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:42.000 talk about how I changed it. I never think of 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:45.840 how I changed it, because it cannot be done only 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:50.640 by one individual. But I did decide early on in 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:54.400 my media career that I would focus on the stories 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:59.280 of women and put them forward every opportunity I would get. 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.640 And it was easy because in the early days, the 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:06.480 answer you get from the programmers was who cares women 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:08.840 want their soap operas and game shows? Well, we know 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:15.160 that's not true, and so over the years, continuing to advocate, create, produce, 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:18.400 come up with ideas. Uh, that's how we change it. 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:24.400 TED Women's another example of of a big brand and 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:28.640 organization that was putting ideas out into the world. When 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.560 we came up with the idea of a TED Women, 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:34.920 there were less than seven percent of the stories of 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:38.920 women and the ideas of women being represented on that 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:43.160 stage and on that platform. Today they're more than half, 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:46.959 and among the most popular TED talks in the world 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:51.880 are ones that were delivered composed uh and came from 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:55.960 the minds and work of women. So numbers matter, but 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:58.720 standing up for each other and navocating for each other 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:03.360 UH matters even more. Well, that's just terrific advice. And 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.680 we like advice on this program because we have so 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:11.200 many listeners who really do want to make a difference. UM. 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:16.520 And you mentioned the shortcomings that still exist, particularly in 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:22.000 lack of representation for women of color for example. UM, 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:25.120 what can we do? What can be done to begin 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:31.160 to um accelerate that pace? Well, it's part of of 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.880 what I talk about when I talk about the leadership 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:39.880 opportunities and the leadership challenges for all of us Milan 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:43.439 and around media. We tend to think, oh, well that's 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:47.360 not my area. I don't really have a voice there. 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:49.960 I'm not in the media. Well you know, I'm not 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:53.200 in the media now either in that I don't hold 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:57.240 an official position and in a media company or whatever. 0:09:57.360 --> 0:10:01.040 But I'm a big media con consider or and so 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:03.640 are all the people who are all the women listening 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:06.560 to us today. And so here's the difference that we 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:11.280 can all make every single day by what we choose 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:15.120 to do. How are we using our social media. What 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:18.600 are we listening to, what are we using? How are 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:23.040 we um interacting with each other? And how are we 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:26.480 letting our voices we heard when we're not happy with 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:29.760 what is being done. Um, it's so it's easy to 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:33.360 feel dis empowered when in fact, the biggest power we 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:36.959 have is that off on switch. How that to go 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:40.680 to or not go to switch? Uh? Every media choice 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:45.680 we is either an advocacy position for what matters to 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:49.240 women are it's quite the opposite. Uh. And we won't 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:53.680 change the power structure unless we let our power of 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:57.800 voices be heard. I love that, you know, using one's 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:01.480 power for purpose and in this case what you describe 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:05.679 seems so simple, but we don't really understand the magnitude 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:09.439 of the impact we could have. Um. That's so well said, Pat. 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.680 I know you have a passion for leadership and you 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:18.080 just mentioned women in leadership. Tell us about your recent book. Uh, 0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:22.439 it's quite a title, Becoming a Dangerous Woman, but it's 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:26.280 essentially a primer for women who want to lead. So 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:31.000 what leadership lessons do you want women to take from 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:35.280 the book and from your life story? In writing about 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:39.319 my life story and work, I really m couldn't imagine 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.800 that that would be the focus of of what I 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:45.040 wanted to do. So I interviewed a lot of other 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:48.440 women who I admire tremendously and who I think of 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:52.240 as dangerous in the good sense of dangerous. So it's 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:55.800 important to define what I mean by becoming dangerous, and 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:59.360 it's very simple. I mean being willing to take the 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:03.520 risk to create change, and that means we have to 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:08.840 stand up, speak up, and show up. And as leaders, 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:12.200 women are doing that now in ways we have not 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:17.120 witnessed in real time the way we're witnessing now in 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:22.520 this pandemic, we've seen women leaders exemplify and therefore proved 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:28.480 conclusively in my opinion, that women do lead differently than 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:32.080 men when we are I shouldn't say, oh men, many 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:35.960 men and many women, because they're always exceptions. It's hard 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:41.440 to generalize, but in in very real examples around the world, 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:45.640 we are watching women now in leadership of countries and 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:50.400 companies to step forward and do it differently, to look 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.120 at the world through a different lens, which is our 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:57.760 lens as wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, wherever we identify on 0:12:57.800 --> 0:13:04.440 the gender scale, bringing our female experiences forward and um 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:08.079 so it's been thrilling to watch some of the women 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:11.400 who I interviewed in the book, like Stacy Abrams and others, 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:15.840 see them take their leadership forward into uh the kind 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:20.600 of outcomes that are undeniable. I'm certainly not saying that 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:23.840 men don't achieve those same outcomes they do, but in 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:28.280 order to have a more balanced, more equitable there are 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:33.320 more just approach to problem solving. We've just got to 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:40.280 have all perspectives recognized, respected and heard, and women leaders 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:44.040 around the world now are bringing that forward. Um. So 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:47.280 for me, it's it's a great testimonial to what you 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:49.600 and I've been saying all along. And after all, Milan, 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:53.120 let's recognize that you were the first sort of ambassador 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:57.520 from this country for women, and that's that made a 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:02.400 statement about the importance of women's leadership, and you exemplify 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:05.080 that every day and the work you carried forth from 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.199 that office. Well, thank you, Pat. But you know what 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:13.200 you've said about the perspective and experiences and talents of 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:17.959 women that so often aren't a parent or aren't given 0:14:18.000 --> 0:14:23.560 the opportunity UH to be fully participatory. That doesn't just 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:27.760 short change women, it short change the benefits of what 0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:32.880 they can bring. You talked about objective outcomes, and we 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:35.720 saw that and continue to see that in the COVID 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:43.320 crisis with tremendous women's leadership. Senecas one hundred women to hear. 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:56.680 Will be back after the short break. May I also 0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:01.880 say something I'm alanned about Janet Yellen's recent confirmation the 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:05.320 first US Secretary of the Treasury. I mean, she said 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:09.320 in her opening remarks to Congress, you know, we need 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:14.040 every perspective at the table. We cannot envision our implement 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:18.360 a just recovery, just economically, even if you put all 0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:22.480 the other ramifications of this pandemic aside, but just to 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:26.840 look at the economic impact on women adversely worse than 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:31.960 any other population. Uh and and again particularly communities of color. 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.240 But there again, she said, we've got to have all 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:39.760 perspectives at the table, and women's perspective through that lens 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:43.640 is especially important when you look at all policies, all 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:47.640 economic policies. So boys, that encouraging right to think that 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:50.760 we'll have a Treasury secretary. You go look at the 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:54.600 twelve women that Biden has appointed and know that those 0:15:54.680 --> 0:16:00.000 perspectives will balance our look at policy and programs um 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:03.240 better good for everyone. Well, and that's such an important 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:07.280 statement for this moment because we do know that women 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:11.560 have disproportionately been affected by COVID UH and the economic 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:16.440 dislocation is just catastrophic. So if in building back better 0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:20.120 we don't address uh, the gender piece, if you will, 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.320 we're going to fail in the outcome we want to achieve. 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:28.520 So thank you for that message. At this moment, I 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.320 would love to add one thing about that, because I've 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:34.520 been thinking so much about it from this economic perspective, 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:38.400 in particular, seeing what you you said. We can't have 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:42.400 a just recovery. It's just not possible without women at 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:45.280 the center of it. But when I hear people say 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:47.760 and all of us do, that we want to build 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:51.120 back better, I've begun to think that a better way, 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:54.760 in a more female way of looking at that, is 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:58.840 build forward better. I'm not sure we want to go 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:02.360 back because we have never gotten back to be an 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:06.400 equal place. So let's move forward to a more just 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:11.199 and equitable future. Well that's really quite a quite a 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:15.160 positive statement, and I think a good one because what 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:20.399 COVID has done is exposed the deep inequalities UH, and 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:22.880 we don't want to build back in a way where 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:26.840 those inequalities continue. But we want to build in a 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:32.680 way where those inequalities no longer exists. So very good point. Um, 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:35.560 Let me go back and ask you, as you're talking 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:38.679 about leadership and the role each of us needs to play, 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:43.280 what were the greatest leadership lessons you've learned along the way? 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:46.760 There must have been some impressions you got back when, 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:51.240 or perhaps more recently that really have stayed with you, 0:17:51.920 --> 0:17:55.640 uh and made you such a strong advocate for women's leadership. 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.680 This is a difficult question for me because I feel 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:03.520 like I learn something every day, either in a story 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.919 I read about a woman leader or some observation I 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:11.000 make in a gathering of of women friends. Um, but 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:14.879 I do think one lesson came through with every single 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:19.000 woman I interviewed for the book, and really literally every 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.639 single woman I know as a leader. Is that being 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:28.600 willing to say yes, being prepared, yes, but even taking 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:32.560 the opportunity, seizing the opportunities when they come, even if 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:36.080 if you're not if we don't feel fully prepared. Because 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:40.760 the difference between the men and women's applications for leadership, 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.679 as you know very well, Land, is that we often 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:46.400 feel as women that we have to take every box. 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:49.440 We have to be perfectly prepared, we have to know 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:53.639 everything we need to know. Men don't feel that way, 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:58.560 and therefore they step forward. So my biggest leadership lesson 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:04.280 has been step for ward, take take the challenge. Say yes, yes, 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:09.240 you're risking failure. But one thing I know absolutely from 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:13.200 my life and the lives of women I know and admire, 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:19.000 you cannot be successful, are effective, or achieved any of 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:22.080 the things we want to achieve if we're not also 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:27.200 willing to risk failing. Yeah, it's something that we've talked 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:31.520 about in in our book, UM in terms of fast forward, 0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:35.200 that we really do have to accept failure because that's 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:37.920 how we learn. And if you say this to a scientist, 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:41.360 they will say, well, it's how we know, uh that 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:43.720 one thing won't work and we can reach the reach 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:47.080 out to the next thing. Um. But but for women 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:50.720 in particular, it seems to be UM that we set 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:54.800 such a high standard for ourselves that we often fear 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:58.960 the failure more than taking that step. So that's fabulous advice. 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:02.919 Thank you, thank you for that. Truly, what do you 0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:07.000 see in the younger generation of women, because UM, I 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:10.040 know you've been doing some great work UH in that 0:20:10.080 --> 0:20:14.560 space as well. Are they much more confident? Do they 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:18.800 step out more? What kinds of challenges do they have, 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:23.120 or how are they leading differently? But it's my observation 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:28.040 that this younger generation both has um that great combination 0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:33.080 of anger at where they find themselves with a climate 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:37.639 crisis that threatens and imperils there in their entire future 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:41.800 on this planet UM, and all the other inequities that 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:46.040 that they have been left by generations of in activity, 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:49.080 and where we haven't accomplished what we need to accomplish. 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:52.640 So I sense an impatience and yes, a kind of 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.800 righteous anger, and and that's led us in many ways 0:20:56.800 --> 0:21:01.840 to this reckoning that we are feeling global, the racial reckoning, 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:05.000 and I believe soon a part of that will be 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:09.520 the gender reckoning that we we need to fix the 0:21:09.600 --> 0:21:14.320 inequalities in our system. But I'm also finding, as we 0:21:14.400 --> 0:21:18.320 have with every generation of women UM, that there there 0:21:18.359 --> 0:21:23.119 are you know, there is still a reluctant to step 0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:28.520 forward and quite the UM way, the collective way that 0:21:28.680 --> 0:21:31.560 I would wish them to do. There's still a group 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:37.399 that keeps themselves distance from feminism, who misunderstand it, have 0:21:37.480 --> 0:21:42.240 accepted other people's definitions of what that means, and God 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:46.000 spending a lot of time working with that group of 0:21:46.040 --> 0:21:49.320 young women who need to embrace feminism and all that 0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:54.320 it means. But progress forward, and the biggest challenge Milan, 0:21:54.440 --> 0:21:57.000 I think for all of us is to reach women 0:21:57.040 --> 0:22:01.320 who have been pushed are found themselves for whatever reasons, 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:05.520 on the other side of the political divide. And so 0:22:05.680 --> 0:22:10.640 this huge divide has developed, and younger women are are 0:22:10.720 --> 0:22:16.960 more open to listening and um and bridging that divide. 0:22:17.359 --> 0:22:20.680 And what I'm finding in my work with connected women leaders, 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:25.159 which is a cohort of all generations in all sectors, 0:22:26.000 --> 0:22:30.800 is a willingness of this younger generation to try and 0:22:30.920 --> 0:22:37.240 bridge these differences and stories are the bridges. In my opinion, Pat, 0:22:37.280 --> 0:22:40.880 as long as I've known you, you've been optimistic um 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:45.679 And for many people these are very difficult times, um, 0:22:45.720 --> 0:22:50.439 almost hopeless times in some ways. What gives you hope 0:22:50.560 --> 0:22:54.439 and what makes you so optimistic about the future. I 0:22:54.640 --> 0:22:57.560 once to ask that question my land of Fidel Castro, 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:00.520 but I've did at a long ether be with him, 0:23:00.560 --> 0:23:02.840 and I couldn't figure out whether he was an optimist 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:05.399 or a pessimist because he kept sort of fluctuating between 0:23:05.440 --> 0:23:07.960 the two things, and he said something to me that 0:23:08.080 --> 0:23:11.000 I have kept ever since. He said, you cannot be 0:23:11.080 --> 0:23:16.840 a pessimist and be a revolutionary So I think part 0:23:16.880 --> 0:23:20.440 of why I cling uh to optimism even in the 0:23:20.560 --> 0:23:23.480 dark days that we've all gone through, is that I 0:23:23.600 --> 0:23:29.640 still so much believe that we need revolutionary changes. Transformational 0:23:29.760 --> 0:23:32.320 changes is about a way of putting it at so 0:23:32.359 --> 0:23:36.199 many levels, because we're just a far far cry from 0:23:36.240 --> 0:23:40.760 the more just and equitable and sustainable world that we 0:23:40.880 --> 0:23:44.960 have been working our whole lives for so during this time, 0:23:44.960 --> 0:23:50.399 which has been challenging to maintain optimism and and to 0:23:50.480 --> 0:23:54.320 maintain connections, which are the thing that fuel my life. 0:23:54.320 --> 0:23:58.880 As you know, I'm I'm so energized by my global 0:23:58.960 --> 0:24:03.680 sisterhood and particular but um, what keeps me going is 0:24:04.000 --> 0:24:06.640 sort of what my friend Jane Fonda said so many 0:24:06.760 --> 0:24:09.400 months ago when people ask her why she was jumping 0:24:09.440 --> 0:24:13.080 back into a big movement at eight two, and you know, 0:24:13.200 --> 0:24:16.000 she said, I was getting depressed, and what helped me 0:24:16.080 --> 0:24:21.080 fight my depression was getting involved, getting engaged. And that 0:24:21.359 --> 0:24:24.080 is another thing I heard from all the women leaders 0:24:24.640 --> 0:24:27.360 that I've interviewed and worked with and that I'm sure 0:24:27.440 --> 0:24:32.280 you're hearing too, is we can't be dangerous from the sidelines. 0:24:32.359 --> 0:24:35.800 We can't be effective from the sidelines. But we also 0:24:35.920 --> 0:24:40.080 can't be optimistic sitting on the sidelines. It's just too 0:24:40.200 --> 0:24:43.840 much that we witness. UM. I wish I could repeat 0:24:43.880 --> 0:24:47.919 it the way Amanda Gorman did be inauguration, But what 0:24:48.200 --> 0:24:54.360 she said so brilliantly was that we're we're at the hill. 0:24:54.520 --> 0:24:57.639 We the light has come and we have to be 0:24:57.760 --> 0:25:02.120 ready to embrace it, to realize it's unfinished, is unfulfilled, 0:25:02.680 --> 0:25:04.840 all of the things that we want, all of the 0:25:04.920 --> 0:25:10.160 promises of of equality and social justice. But um, we 0:25:10.240 --> 0:25:15.000 have to stay in the light. And more importantly, my 0:25:15.080 --> 0:25:18.920 biggest takeaway from that brilliant point was we have to 0:25:19.080 --> 0:25:24.560 be the light. And in that being, in that doing 0:25:25.760 --> 0:25:29.359 is where I find hope. That is a wonderful way 0:25:29.400 --> 0:25:35.000 to end this extraordinary conversation today. UM, I just want 0:25:35.040 --> 0:25:37.600 to say, Pat Mitchell, you have been the light. You 0:25:37.720 --> 0:25:42.640 continue to be the light, a change maker par excellence. 0:25:42.800 --> 0:25:46.840 I think your advice about staying engaged as the best 0:25:46.880 --> 0:25:51.639 tonic any of us can have. UH and continue to 0:25:51.680 --> 0:25:56.199 climb those mountains because getting to the top. Whatever the 0:25:56.240 --> 0:26:00.760 top represents is really important in life the land. Thank 0:26:00.840 --> 0:26:04.080 you and thank you for being on that mountain bringing 0:26:04.119 --> 0:26:08.880 all the rest of us along. What a terrific perspective 0:26:09.040 --> 0:26:12.880 Pat Mitchell has. Here are three things that stuck with 0:26:12.920 --> 0:26:19.000 me from that conversation. First, as Pat says, each of 0:26:19.080 --> 0:26:22.959 us has a voice and a platform, including through social media, 0:26:23.680 --> 0:26:26.800 we can and should use our platforms to advocate for 0:26:26.840 --> 0:26:32.240 other women. Second, to create change, we have to be 0:26:32.320 --> 0:26:36.680 willing to take risks. That means standing up, speaking up, 0:26:36.800 --> 0:26:40.120 and showing up. And we're fortunate to live at a 0:26:40.160 --> 0:26:43.280 time when we have the great example of women leaders 0:26:43.320 --> 0:26:46.680 around the world who have taken the bold, brave steps 0:26:46.760 --> 0:26:53.480 needed to tackle COVID. Finally, more than ever, we need 0:26:53.520 --> 0:26:56.280 to be talking to people on the other side of 0:26:56.320 --> 0:26:59.920 the political spectrum from ourselves, and that is where Pat 0:27:00.040 --> 0:27:03.760 finds hope today and the willingness of the younger generation 0:27:03.840 --> 0:27:07.040 of women to listen and to bridge the divides that 0:27:07.240 --> 0:27:12.080 keep us apart. Tune in next Tuesday to hear about 0:27:12.160 --> 0:27:15.760 our next featured woman and discover why she's one of 0:27:15.800 --> 0:27:20.320 Seneca's Women to Hear. If you'd like to join the 0:27:20.320 --> 0:27:24.000 Seneca Women Network, go to Seneca Women dot com. There 0:27:24.040 --> 0:27:27.560 you'll get access to exclusive events and workshops, plus updates 0:27:27.560 --> 0:27:32.520 on new podcasts and other opportunities to get involved. Seneca's 0:27:32.560 --> 0:27:34.879 one hundred Women to Hear is a collaboration between the 0:27:34.920 --> 0:27:38.159 Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio, with support 0:27:38.160 --> 0:27:48.160 from founding partner PNG. Have a great Day.