Metoo made everyone stop, Pay Attention and listen. Part of the legacy of the Harvey Weinstein story is that we need to see these problems. We are the popular vote. Its all right at the surface. Its sort of been happening for a long time, and its not just in hollywood, its across many different communities and cultures. So youre part of a small group of women in the history of the United States who have actually run for president. Carly fiorina. We all knew what was going on. Senator Kamala Harris is joe bidens running mate. The first black woman in the United States senate. I dont think ive ever said this publicly. A lot of black feminists, myself included are bitter about this suffrage anniversary. The history for black women is one of perseverance and diligence, but also deep racial oppression. Typically we think that history is what happened. History is not what happened, history is who tells the story. There are more than 20 historical figures in central park. But not one of them is a real woman . No. So the first statue of women in central park is going to go up right here. Tell me about how it started . Well, it started with an observation that there were no women in central park. So the question is, where are the women . And after 160 years of public space with no real women, we decided this is the 21st century, women shall be represented. And we tied it to the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment of the u. S. Constitution. How does it feel now when so many statues are coming down, and theres such controversy over statues to be putting one up . Actually, there are many going up with women, which is really exciting. I was contacted by someone in the committee to tell me that this statue was being built and that my great grandmother was slated to be incorporated into the statue. But what i saw is the design is that Elizabeth Katie stanton and susan b. Anthony were on the statue and my great grandmothers name along with 21 other womens names were on a scroll. And seven of the names out of the 22 were women of color. How did you feel when you realized that . I tried to think about how my great grandmother would feel about having her name written on a scroll thats coming down off a desk that Elizabeth Katie stanton and susan b. Anthony are sitting. I felt like she would not consider that to be an honor. In American History as you fight for womens rights, there were many black women who were instrumental in that . Absolutely. Absolutely. Sojourner truth and ida b. Wells. Absolutely. This park had zero women, so in my opinion, if we could have in here, if we could have 20 in here, yes, yes, yes. Did you see the issue of race when you looked at it . I dont always judge everything by race. I think its actually denigrating i met the great great great great grandson of frederick douglass. Hes one of the most Beautiful People i know. I mean, forget beauty. Its the beauty of soul, the beauty of spirit. I think its important for black people to see themselves in public spaces. Women of color were involved in the Suffrage Movement. There were hispanic, asian and native american women involved in the Suffrage Movement. I think in every way, its important to tell the whole story of what this countrys history is. They built on 1776 and they made their own declaration of independence. And thats when they said all men women are created equal. And that became the start of the revolution. Matilda jocelyn gauge who was one of the leaders of the National WomensNational Suffrage association wrote, we are not asking for a new right. We are asking for the restitution of a right that our foremothers had. She knew. And the suffragist knew that women had voted in the colonies, it actually was a right that was taken away from women after the revolution. I think typically we think that history is what happened. History is not what happened, history is who tells the story. Part of i think our white arrogance is the idea that history begins once white people get here. Once white people arrive, the party starts. Then reality, the party was going well before white people got here. And in fact, it was a better party, even perhaps than we have today. Women of the six nations of the iroquois confederacy had a voice on this land where im standing right now 1,000 years ago. On the shores of onondaga lake. Elizabeth katie samson saw women who had control of the economy in ways. She knew that they were the deciding factors in situations of war or peace. And so having a model allowed them really to dream the possibility, not just of equality. Not just of the vote, but of a transformed world. Its really not even a process of women in the Suffrage Movement working for their rights. They were working for legal existence. Once women married, they were considered dead in the law. Elizabeth Katie Stanton called for a transformation of society. She called for an end to capital punishment, corporal punishment, she believed that a woman should have control of her own body. She was revealed for talking about a womans right to have a divorce. I want her to be remembered for those things. The progressive Elizabeth Katie stanton. But i also want us to remember the racist Elizabeth Katie stanton. The woman was not perfect. She never acknowledged that she grew up in a slave owning household. And i think she never really took accountability for his racist statements. Thats the imperfect Elizabeth Katie stanton. The centennial, the 100 Year Anniversary opens up the possibility of us really finally telling the honest true story. Its a perfect opportunity for us to talk about how barriers when they fall dont fall for everyone. The great failing of the Suffrage Movement was the platform was a platform of white supremacy. They made the argument, give women the right to vote because white women out number negroes and immigrants. And womans suffrage is a way to maintain white native born supremacy. Africanamerican women basically didnt get the right to vote really until 1965 in the Voting Rights act. Native american women who choose to vote really werent able to, in some cases until the 1950s. And even today Voter Suppression continues on. Especially for those groups. I think thats why a lot of black feminists, myself included are very bitter about this suffrage anniversary. Yay, women got to vote, but which women. How do you feel about this anniversary of 100 years, is it something to celebrate . Yeah, i mean, i do think that it is something to celebrate 100 years of an amendment being made to the constitution, but i also think it needs to come with an asterisk and a caveat and a footnote. Im glad that women got the vote, obviously, as a woman who votes. But as a black woman who knows how long we had to wait to get the right to vote, i want that acknowledgement to be public and consistent and ongoing. Its uncomfortable but most of our history is uncomfortable. I think we have to face it and sit in that discomfort to really create progress. I do believe that we have made incredible strides toward equality in america for women. You can see that by looking at every sector of the workplace, whether it be engineering or being a doctor or a lawyer or judge. I think theres a lot more to go. We are still hearing of firsts when it comes to women in different positions. The first black woman that, or the first hispanic woman that. We have this immense fear of seeing other than a white dude in a position of leadership. So, yes, progress has been made. Theres still a long way to go. This year is the 100th anniversary of womens suffrage, what does this moment mean to you . Well, it marks an incredible passage of time, and in one sense i feel like, okay, weve made progress as women. But in another sense, i feel like we just havent made nearly enough progress. I think its interesting that this anniversary is coming right at this moment in time where i feel hopeful for the first time. I feel like so much of what so many women of color, what so many activists have been pointing us toward for so long, its all right at the surface. How broken our institutions are, and how far we still have to go. I think as a culture we are becoming more literal in feminism and seeing more women in particular publicly claim feminism. It also shows again how virulent misogyny is that people considered feminism a slur. Its not just like something were trying to get rid of, its not an annoying fly were trying to get rid of, it is the thing. Its going to take a lot longer to undo all of it. In the United States, the World Economic forum did a survey and looked forward at the data, were 208 years away from gender equality in our own country. Wow to marginalize us. When you talk about political power, there has been Real Progress there too. Certainly. You still have women far out numbered by men in political office. Oh, absolutely. We are still 83rd in the world for womens representation. And we only have a quarter of the seats in congress, theres a long way to go. Its easy to see the things we havent achieved yet. What is amazing to me is, how much Progress Women have made despite trying to fit into a system that wasnt ever built to have us. Women are now the majority of voters, they are almost half the economy, half the workforce, and i do think its exciting to think that were at this cusp now. Women are the most powerful Political Force in the country. Have we made a lot of progress . Yes. But as the first woman to ever lead a fortune 50 company, if i look at Corporate America today for example, there are more men named james or john, take your pick, who are ceos in the corporate 500 than there are women. Think about that. We went from 20 employees to 100. Early on when i founded the Honest Company, i was saying, why cant we get more executives that are women, and why cant we get more leaders that are women . And i did have some folks that work with me, women, once they have kids dont want to work. I think when you do have a lot of people who judge women in particular who choose to have any kind of personal life, more or less decide to have a family and think maybe theyre less valuable. Its like, you have to hide the fact that you have a family in entertainment, youre not going to be looked at as desirable. Its very similar in business, it plays in both places. How has hollywood changed . I think that because there is an awareness of the injustices, it now allows space for more opportunity. But opportunity doesnt happen overnight. We have to make sure that we create many, many, many more pathway pathways. How are you making decisions melinda, on where to spend the money . Im investing in taking down the barriers, that is not having things like good paid family medical leave or looking more deeply at harassment, barriers that hold women back, but also key sectors where women, we need them to come forward, those would be like politics, finance, technology, because its so important. And media, telling our stories, if we can tip those four industries and truly get them over the mark of halfway gender neutral, wow you would change society. Its a new day in america. Do you ever think to yourself, wow im a trailblazer and its about wearing pants . When i first showed up at the senate, the guard didnt want to let me in the door. Pnc knows business keeps moving. 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I get there, it was a great hulabalu behind the scenes about me having on pants. Thats what started it. Do you ever think to yourself, wow im a trailblazer, and its about wearing pants . You wouldnt have thought that that would have been a place you had to blaze a trail. Right, right. When i first showed up at the senate, the guard didnt want to let me in the door. Until someone told him thats the senator from illinois. Its a new day in america. It took 25 years from your election as the first black female senator in the United States of america to elect another. That was Kamala Harris. Now, she is the democratic Vice President ial candidate. How do you feel about that . I think its terrific. Im delighted. And i couldnt be happier, the fact is, having a black woman on the ticket for the presidency for the white house, i think is a major step forward, so im thrilled. We have a chance to choose a better future. It is very rare for black women to aseed to positions of power. For this to happen, we should not take this moment for granted. The first black female Vice President ial pick. And first asian female Vice President ial pick. What were some of the challenges about being first, being the oath winly one and tht one in the room. I dont think i ever said this publicly. I stepped on to the National Stage and fell flat on my face. Give it up for carol moseleybraun. And i guess i was not prepared for all of the unwritten rules. And i wasnt prepared for the expectations. Hi, senator. Hello. At the time i was the only black person in the senate. So that was difficult. Because its like, when issues came up having to do with race, id be expected to be the one to respond to it. Its like, wait a minute, i have to represent illinois, i have to represent every black person on the planet. Its like, how is this going to work . 1992 is what people will call the year of the woman. What people dont realize is, prior to 1992 there were only two women serving in the u. S. Sena senate. Ultimately you got four more women elected. And they were all democrats. Women are currently still only about 23 of congress. So the number of women in congress rises very very slowly over the years. And one reason for that is, getting elected to Something Like congress is a very difficult proposition. Makes me very proud incumbent members of congress get reelected at rates at well over 90 . Our elections are really expensive. It costs well over a Million Dollars these days to get elected to a house seat. Its multimillions of dollars to get elected to a senate seat. Thats been a challenge for all types of new groups, trying to break into office, including women. Id like to introduce my mother, the next governor of texas. My mother influenced everything about my life, and still does. I think the most important thing she taught me and taught other women is, dont wait your turn. Dont wait to be asked. Start before youre ready. Women really worry that theyre unprepared to run for office. If they dont have the answer to every single question that a potential voter may ask them, that theyre not qualified. This is not a worry that i think any man has ever suffered from. Youre the one person in the world that could make me change over to another party. The other part that i would say is the role of the media. Do you think america is ready for a president that is both black and a woman . America hasnt been ready for a lot of things. The media sends the wrong messages to girls and women. Do you think the soviets may be tempted to try to take advantage of you simply because you are a woman. We saw that in the coverage of many female candidates. Shes kind of compelling, shes adorable in the way a 5yearold child can be adorable. When we see a woman who is outspoken, ambitious, loud, bold, she makes us uncomfortable. Because she is stepping outside of the roles that we have assigned for women. And what we do with that discomfort is we dont trust her. Hillary for president. Its absolutely no surprise that america is so far behind in embracing Women Leaders. When you think about all the countries in the world that have had Women Leaders and yet this country has not had a female president , why do you think that is . Well, i i think we have an unusual view of women in the United States. And on the one hand we dont want them to be too ambitious, and yet they have to show their power, but also be very nice. That is a tremendously difficult balance to hold up. I think we have not updated our norms and thinking when what female leadership can and should look like. Theres not one type of female leadership. Some of the people i admire are Angela Merkel in germany and jacinda in new zealand. I think its meaningful that many of our allies in other countries have managed to break that barrier. Were supposedly the leaders of the free world, but maybe not so free when it comes to gender. The men have ruined it, our country is a mess. Its time to give a woman a chance. Youve run for president of the United States . What sticks with you now about that experience . I can remember people bringing their daughters to my speeches. We will take the men only si